


In the Elven King's Halls

by lotrfan



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Blue Mountains | Ered Luin, Character Death, Complicated Relationships, Dwarf/Elf Relationship(s), Dwarves, Elves, Erebor, Falling In Love, Grey Havens, Loss, Lost Love, Mirkwood, Rivendell | Imladris
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-21
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-03-31 12:59:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 79,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3978964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lotrfan/pseuds/lotrfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I liked the addition of Tauriel to Peter Jackson's Hobbit movie. Having a strong female character was a positive in my opinion.  I also liked the Kili/Tauriel relationship. They only had a few, very short encounters in the movie before Kili escaped and Tauriel went after him to Lake town. In the book the dwarves were prisoners of the Elven King for almost two weeks. This story follows the idea and much of the dialogue of the movie but gives the dwarves a longer period as prisoners in the Woodland Realm, allowing Tauriel and Kili more time to get to know each other and develop feelings for each other before the escape. I also have tried to adjust some plot holes and scenes I had issues with in the movies. The story goes beyond the end of the movies. I have revised the formatting from one long work to multiple chapters as chapter numbers are increasing!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The prison cells

Kili turned toward the red-haired elf. "Aren't you going to search me?" he asked her. "I could have anything down my trousers."

She slammed the cell door closed, raised one eyebrow at him and said "Or nothing." He glared at her as he sat down on the stone seat in his jail cell. "I seem to recall you begging me for a weapon before I saved you from that spider. I doubt you've miraculously acquired one since then, dwarf." She turned and walked away.

Kili stood up and moved to the bars of his cell. "Captain!" he called after her.

"Yes, dwarf?" She turned to look at him from the higher stairs, eyebrow raised again.

"My name is Kili. Thank you for the rescue from the spider." He nodded his head at her the slightest bit.

"Kili! What are you doing?" barked Dwalin from his cell as the other dwarves muttered to themselves and glared in the direction of Kili's voice.

The Elf gave a nod and a small smile to Kili. "I think you shall prefer our hospitality to that of the spiders, dwarf—Kili, " she corrected herself. She turned and walked up the steps. Kili heard her say quietly as she walked away "My name is Tauriel." He watched her leave, a small smile on his face.

"Why does that dwarf stare at you, Tauriel?" said Legolas as she joined him at the top of the stairs. "Who can say?" she replied. "He is rather tall for a dwarf, do you not think?" She gave Legolas a sidelong smile as she said this.

Legolas replied "Taller than some." He returned her smile with a stony look and continued "But no less ugly."

Kili sat heavily down on the stone ledge in his cell again after Tauriel and Legolas had left.

"Have you lost your mind, nephew?" said Thorin, over the din of the other dwarves commentary on Kili's conversation. Fili said nothing but looked doubtfully at his brother through his cell bars. Kili sat uncharacteristically silent through the assembled barrage of dwarven displeasure being voiced.

"Nephew!" Thorin's voice boomed across the space between the cells. "We are not here as guests. We are prisoners of the Elven King. There is no place for niceties."

Kili sighed. "I prefer my name to simply being called 'dwarf' Uncle. I meant no harm by it."

"Peace, Thorin." said Balin in a soothing tone. "The lad is young. We must make the best of our circumstances and antagonizing our captors isn't going to help our cause. Let the lad be. He's done no lasting harm."

Thorin glared through his cell bars before commencing to pace the confines of his cell, but he spoke no more.

Bofur gave a hearty laugh. "I'm thinking you don't find this elf lass as unattractive as the ones in Rivendell, lad."

King Thranduil's chambers

"Legolas said you fought well today." Thranduil inclined his head as Tauriel entered his chambers. She stopped and looked at the Elven King. "He's grown very fond of you, you know." Thranduil continued, looking at her face.

Tauriel made a small movement with her head. "I assure you, my lord, Legolas thinks of me as not more than a simple Captain of the Guard."

"Perhaps he did once." Thranduil moved closer to her and looked down into Tauriel's eyes. "Now I'm not so sure."

Tauriel turned away. "I do not think you would allow your son to pledge himself to a lowly Silvan Elf," she murmured.

"No, you are right. I would not. There is no such thing as a lowly Silvan Elf in my realm and you should know this by now, Tauriel." Thranduil moved to face her again. "I care not whether you are Silvan or Sindar. You are the Captain of my Guard and that matters far more than your heritage." Thranduil tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "My son cares for you. Do not give him hope where there is none." He moved away towards the windows of his chambers, making a dismissive gesture towards Tauriel as he did. She bowed and walked out, cheeks red and eyes narrowed.

She and Legolas had been friends all her years in the Woodland Realm. She had come to be Thranduil's ward as a young elf. Legolas had treated her as a younger sister and she had tagged along behind him whenever she could.

He had taught her to use bow, knife and sword. He had sparred with her and given her bruises that hurt for days. It was unusual in elven custom to train a female with weapons but Legolas convinced his father it would be good training for him to teach her and valuable training for her, orphan as she was, with no family to protect her.

He was beyond good as a teacher. Tauriel earned her rank as Captain of the Palace Guard due to her fighting skills and keen eyes. Thranduil saw it made them both happy and he confirmed her rank. For many years they were simply companions and sparring partners. But Tauriel had been noticing a change in Legolas' demeanor lately. She had berated herself for being vain and imagining his attentions had changed but both his jealousy of the banter with the dwarf today and Thranduil's words just now only confirmed her suspicions.

She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself. She knew Thranduil's words had disturbed her but not because she loved Legolas in that way. The dismissive tone had hurt her deeply. Thranduil had always treated her as family after her parents' deaths. But obviously she was not.

She shook her head. She had no time for this. The spiders were growing increasingly bold and now she had thirteen prisoners in the cells of the palace to look after.

Legolas would get over her. She was sure it was simply his distaste at a dwarf addressing her in such a familiar way that had set this all off. She smiled. The dwarf had nearly made her laugh with his trouser comment. It was nice not to be so serious for a moment.

She headed to the kitchens to let the cooks know they had thirteen unwanted and unexpected guests. She would look in on the dwarves again tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

In his cell Kili tossed a stone in his hand that had dwarvish runes on it. He tossed it up and caught it.

Tauriel returned to do a final walkthrough the prison cells for the night. She went from cell to cell and ended up at Kili's cell.

"What is that stone in your hand?"she asked him.

"It is a talisman." Kili replied, looking up at her through the bars of his cell. She gave him a puzzled look. "It has a powerful spell on it," he continued. "If any but a dwarf reads the runes on this stone. . .That person will be forever cursed!" he finished, holding the stone up and making Tauriel take a step back at his fierce tone. She looked at him for a moment and then turned to leave.

"Or not." He said quickly, in a quieter voice, before she could move too far off. "Depending on whether you believe in that kind of thing. It's just a token." He laughed and Tauriel gave him a small smile.

"It's a rune stone," he continued, a little sheepishly. "My mother gave it to me so I'd remember my promise."

"Your promise?" Tauriel asked.

"That I would come back to her. She worries." He made a face. "She thinks I'm reckless."

"Are you?" Tauriel smiled.

"Nah." He tossed the stone up again to catch it but he missed this time and it fell through the cell bars. Tauriel quickly used her foot to stop it from rolling away. She picked it up and looked at it.

Kili stood up and went to the cell door quickly. He looked up at the stairs and the distant sounds coming from above the prison. "Sounds like quite the party you're having up there," he said.

"It's Mereth Nuin Giliath; The Feast of Starlight. All light is sacred to the Eldar, but the Wood Elves love best the light of the stars." she said.

"I always thought it was a cold light, remote and far away." Kili replied.

"It is memory, precious and pure." Tauriel said with deep emotion in her voice. They looked at each other for a moment through his cell door bars. "Like your promise." she continued, placing his rune stone back in his hand. She turned and looked up the stairs, then turned back to him, speaking in a quieter voice. "I have walked there sometimes, beyond the forest and up in to the night. I have seen the world fall away and the white light forever fill the air."

Kili gripped the bars of the cell and brought his face between two bars. "I saw a fire moon once," he said in a low, quiet voice. "It rose over a pass near Dunland. Huge! Red and gold it was, it filled the sky."

Tauriel sat on the step in front of his cell so that they were at eye level. "We were an escort for some merchants from Ered Luin," he continued. "They were trading silverwork for furs. We took the Greenway south, keeping the mountain to our left and then it appeared. This huge fire moon lighting our path. I wish I could show you." he finished.

"I have seen a fire moon from the forest," she replied. "It must have been beautiful on the open road."

"I've never seen anything like it," he said.

"There is a clearing near the edge of the forest, " Tauriel said. "By the river. When the moon is waning the stars fill the sky there. That is where I saw the fire moon."

"Did it look like molten gold pouring from the sky?" asked Kili eagerly.

Tauriel smiled. "That it did. We go to type, dwarf—er-Kili" she said awkwardly. "You love the red and gold of jewels and metal and I love the white and silver of the stars."

"There are jewels and metal that shine like stars, " he said. "White gems, mithril."

"I'll take the starlight," she said quietly.

"Well, it's not like I've got the jewels or mithril to give you," he said very quietly, shaking he head. "Maybe someday. If we ever get out of here."

Tauriel stood up. "I must take my leave. The feast is on and you are all well provided for the night."

She did not see Legolas standing far above on the highest stairs, staring down at her. As she stood he turned and left the prison entrance.

Tauriel turned to leave. "Goodnight," Kili whispered to her as she left. She inclined her head at him and continued up the stairs.

Kili watched her as she left and stayed by his cell door, looking up long after she was gone.

Tauriel entered the King's hall. Bright lights, music and the wonderful smells of food met her. She walked to a far table and took a seat at the end. Guards from her company nodded to her but continued talking amongst themselves.

She glanced at the high table and found Legolas staring at her. She smiled but his expression didn't change. She gave him a puzzled look and then looked away. This was not like him. She thought about Thranduil's words again and sighed. She was too restless for the hall tonight. She got up, nodded to her fellow guards, nodded to Legolas, who was still staring at her, and left the hall.

She had made it but a few steps out before Legolas appeared next to her. "Where do you go, Tauriel? The feast is back there." he said curtly.

"I have no appetite for being underground tonight, mellon," she answered. "Tonight is for the stars, yet we are underground. We used to have this feast in the forest, under the leaves and sky."

He fell into step next to her, then sighed. "I miss it being outside also. But Father will not agree to move it back out since the spiders have grown so bold."

"Yet he does not let us follow them to their source to put an end to them!" she countered. "I know they come from the south yet he does not want us to cross the forest mountains to flush them out."

She shook her head. "He is master of this great forest yet each year we retreat further and further. Soon we will not dare to venture beyond the palace walls, Legolas."

He nodded. "It seems so to me also Tauriel. There is darkness growing in this forest that disturbs me. I cannot name its source but it does seem stronger in the southern reaches. The spiders are but a part of this darkness. There are more trees and animals sickened this season than before, from what source I know not."

"I feel it too," she replied. "I have asked to send patrols but as my command is of the Palace Guard my king has not given me leave to expand our patrols."

"I have asked also and he says it concerns us not. But it is within the borders of our kingdom." Legolas spat. "And now these dwarves come unlooked for—it has been many years since a dwarf set foot in the Greenwood. I know not what this portends."

Their steps had taken them to the main forest gate. Tauriel stopped and turned to Legolas. "They seem a simple folk, these dwarves. I know not their purpose, but they do not seem to have a design on us."

Legolas started to laugh. "Simple folk with no designs on us? Nay, they are more than that, although they claim they are just passing through. My father questioned their leader, who told him little, but Father gleaned that they are heading to Erebor in an attempt to reclaim their lost kingdom from the dragon. A folly if ever there was one."

"To reclaim the mountain?" Tauriel exclaimed. "But surely they cannot expect to do such a thing with only thirteen?"

"I know not the workings of dwarvish minds, Tauriel, nor do I have any interest in it. But I do know that if they do wake that dragon it could spell great trouble for the River men and for us. They may not mean us harm directly but should the dragon fly again, harm will come to us."

Tauriel shook her head. "Dark tidings, mellon, from within and without the forest." She placed her hand on the gate and looked up at him with her eyebrows raised. "Shall we celebrate the feast of starlight among the stars Legolas or here beneath the ground?"

"It is too late to head to the river but let us at least see the stars between the trees tonight, " he replied, with a smile. He unbolted the gate. The elf guard standing in the shadows next to the gate stepped in to bar his path.

"Let me pass, Andor." Legolas said.

"I cannot, my prince." Andor bowed his head. "By order of your father none shall pass the gates once night has fallen."

Legolas slammed his hand against the door. "Is this not the Feast of Starlight? Can we not step outside the door to see our beloved stars?" Andor shook his head and barred the door again.

"Come Legolas," said Tauriel, putting a hand on his arm and gently pulled him. "Let us go back."

"I bow to the King's will." Legolas said curtly to Andor and then turned away. Tauriel sped up to keep pace with him.

He was not headed to the hall. He took a sharp turn and they headed deeper into the palace. She followed him down to the storerooms and kitchens until they reached the barrel storage area. "What are we doing here, mellon? There is no feast here." Tauriel said.

He turned to her with a tight smile on his face. "No there is no feast here. But we can go out and sit by the river door and watch the stars from there. The gate is down the river so we cannot be stopped here."

They walked through the barrel drop room above the river and he opened a small side door. It led to a small ledge above the river, where the Elves could push the barrels down if the river was low. It was just a small ledge; longer than it was wide but with thinner trees above it since is was at the forest edge. They stood on the ledge and looked up. Between the trees they could make out the twinkling stars.

Tauriel took a deep breath and turned her face to the sky. Legolas did the same. "A Elbereth Gilthoniel,"

"Silivren penna miriel." she answered. They gazed at the sky. Neither of them saw or heard the invisible hobbit that had followed them from the main gate


	3. Chapter 3

Another day in the cells passed. Kili paced back and forth in his cell. Eleven paces long and six wide. He'd gone back and forth most of the day. So many days on the road made this forced inactivity intolerable. The fact that Thorin was taken out of his cell for another audience with the Elven King hours ago wasn't helping him feel less agitated.

He pulled out his rune stone and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger. He'd meant to scare the Elf—Tauriel—he reminded himself. He had wanted to intimidate her, to make up for his earlier behavior towards her that had so infuriated his uncle.

But he hadn't liked seeing that startled, wary look on her face. It felt wrong. He'd turned it into a joke after all. He remembered how her face lit up when she smiled. He smiled down at his rune stone as he thought of her.

A cell door crashed shut and he was startled. He rushed to his cell door and watched an unfamiliar Elf walk by his cell. Thorin was back.

"Did he offer you a deal?" asked Balin, once the elf guard was gone.

"Aye, he did," Thorin growled. "I told him he could goishkh khakfe andu null. Him and all his kin!"

Balin sighed. "Well, that's that then. A deal was our only hope."

Kili resumed pacing. He knew he must defer to Thorin but he was devastated to hear his uncle had turned down the Elven King. There was no escape to be had from these cells. Time was slipping past. A deal would at least have them on the road again, perhaps even with some supplies. But no bargain.

He sat on the stone seat again. He wondered whatever could have happened to Bilbo. The hobbit certainly had a hard time staying with the company when things went badly. He hoped he was in better circumstances than they were, though he doubted that was possible.

Silence enveloped the cells. There was nothing to say after what had transpired. It looked like they were going to be here for a while.

Tauriel returned from her palace perimeter patrol in the late afternoon. She and her guards had seen no spiders or anything out of the ordinary. She made her report to the King and headed to the prison cell for her nightly round.

Erebor. She couldn't believe this motley group was planning to retake Erebor. Surely they must be goading King Thranduil with this story but to what purpose? She could not fathom thirteen dwarves attempting to overthrow a dragon. She entered the cells determined to get more information from these dwarves. She had checked in with every cell the last two nights but decided to be more attentive tonight.

"Landor, how fare the prisoners?" she asked the guard at the entrance to the prison.

"Nothing to report Captain. They have not said much other than grumbling about the food."

Tauriel left him at the door at the top of the stairs and descended into the cellblock alone. She noticed Kili was at his cell door as she came down the steps—his was the first cell she came by.

"How fare you, Kili?" she asked.

"Better now that you are here, my lady" he said with a wink. She shook her head and rolled her eyes at him with a smile.

"Are we feeding you enough? I know nothing of your kind and their preferences. " she said to him.

"A bit of ale wouldn't be amiss. " Kili replied. "And there is certainly an abundance of greens." He made a face. "But we had much the same in Rivendell, so I suppose it's just standard Elven fare. I know very little of your kind as well." He inclined his head at her.

"Rivendell!" She breathed. "Have you really been there?"

"As guests of Lord Elrond, yes." He spoke very low, not wanting the other dwarves to hear.

"Then you are Elf friends!" She whispered back. "How have you not mentioned this before?"

"What do you mean Elf friend?" he asked.

"Why if you have guested with Lord Elrond, you are Elf friends. He would not shelter or aid those who mean us harm. " she finished.

"Will that make a difference with your King?" he asked even more quietly.

"I know not but it cannot hurt for him to know. Has your leader not told him of this?" Tauriel asked, with a puzzled look.

Kili made a bitter face and glanced towards Thorin's cell. "I doubt he brought it up," he whispered back.

"I will make my rounds but I will return to you before I leave to hear more. Perhaps I can tell my King this news." She nodded at him and stepped away to Bofur's cell next door.

"Good evening," she said brightly to Bofur. "I trust you have all you need, sir?"

"A mug of ale, a bit of meat and my freedom are all I need, lass." Bofur replied.

"We Elves are not meat eaters but I may be able to assist you with the ale." She said this as she moved to Dwalin's cell.

She stopped at each cell to ask each dwarf how he fared and what he needed. She got only a glare from Dwalin and Thorin and little else from the rest other than grumbles, save for Balin.

"Thank you for your care, lass. A bit of fresh air is what I miss the most." Balin said to her.

"I thought dwarves lived in the dark, deep places of the earth," said Tauriel, surprised.

"Aye, we do. And dwarves can live many months or years in our kingdoms under ground. But we have airshafts, light shafts and doorways that lead out to the sun and breeze. It's been many a year since I was below ground for long, lass, and I've grown accustomed to the space." He shrugged.

"I doubt there is much I can do to help with that, sir." she said.

"Aye, expected no more, lass. It's understood." Balin smiled at her and sat down in his cell again.

Tauriel climbed back to Kili's cell, noticing that he had stayed as she had left him, face pressed to the cell bars. She had seen him watching her as she went from cell to cell. His face lit up as she approached and she felt an answering smile on her face and to her horror a blush came to her cheeks. She coughed to cover her embarrassment and approached his cell again.

"What do you eat?" she asked him. "It seems our fare is not to anyone's liking."

"Meat, ale, cheese, bread. We don't hold much with greens. We are hunters and foragers by nature, not farmers or gardeners," he said.

She leaned closer to his cell, her face just inches from his. "Tell me, were you truly at Rivendell?"

He moved closer too, until they were almost nose-to-nose. "Yes, I swear to you. We were guests in Rivendell. Lord Elrond gave us guidance and supplies. We traveled with the wizard Gandalf, who is his friend."

"And were you really on your way to Erebor?" she breathed.

He took a deep breath before answering. He breathed in the scent of her, she was so close to him. Clean, fresh, floral. It filled his head for a moment and left him without speech.

"Were you?" she asked again.

He closed his eyes, breathed in again and opened his eyes, looking deep into her green ones. "Yes," he said very quietly. "We were. We were on the way to reclaim our homeland." He paused, looking at her intently. "My uncle is the rightful King under the Mountain."

Her eyes widened. She stepped back. "I will do what I can. " she said in a low voice.

"Thank you, " he said, watching her as she turned and went up the steps again.


	4. Chapter 4

Tauriel headed up the steps and left the prison ward. Her head was spinning. Elf friends! They had been to Rivendell. She had never left the Woodland Realm but all Elves knew the Lord Elrond and the haven of Rivendell. Surely King Thranduil needed to know this.

She made her way to King Thranduil's hall. She did not find him there but ran into Legolas as she went in search of the King.

"Legolas, these dwarves we have in our prison are Elf friends!" She burst out when she saw him.

"Elf friends? But how do you know this, Tauriel?" he asked.

"They have been guests of Elrond in Rivendell!" she answered. "They were traveling with Mithrandir."

"Mithrandir? What dwarves are these that travel with wizards and stay with Elves by choice?" he muttered.

"They go to Erebor to reclaim their homeland, Legolas. They are heirs to the King Under the Mountain!"

Legolas stopped and turned to stare at Tauriel. "The hospitality of Lord Elrond does not guarantee that they are Elf friends, Tauriel but still we must speak to my father." he said. Together they moved towards Thranduil's chambers.

"What brings my son and the Captain of my Guard here at this hour?" Thranduil asked, after they had knocked and entered his private rooms. "Is the palace secure?"

"All is secure, my Lord." Tauriel began.

Thranduil interrupted her. "I thought I told you not to encourage my son, Tauriel." Tauriel blushed furiously. Legolas frowned and looked from her face to his father's.

"Encourage me in what way, Adar?" he asked curtly.

"Your feelings for Tauriel are becoming more apparent, Legolas. I have told her she has no future with you and to encourage your affections further would be folly on her part." Thranduil said, tilting his head slightly as he looked at his son.

"I believe my feelings or affections, as you say, are my business, my Lord." Legolas said stiffly.

"Perhaps if you were not my son. But you are my son and Tauriel is my ward and as your King I can tell you there is no future for you two that differs from your past relations." Thranduil looked back and forth from Tauriel to Legolas as he spoke.

"Adar!" Legolas burst out.

"Peace, Legolas." Tauriel stepped close to him and laid her hand on his arm. She could feel the tenseness of the muscles and saw him clench his jaw. She had to speak now to convince Thranduil to let this matter go. She closed her eyes briefly and then continued. "Your father has your best interests at heart. You and I are dear friends, mellon-nin. Nothing can change that. My duty lies with your father and my allegiance is to him and to your line. You have loved me like a brother and I you. That is enough for me, mellon. Let it be enough for you." She raised her eyes to Legolas face. Ai! Thranduil had been right after all. She saw the stunned hurt in his eyes and her own stung with tears. She had felt no more than brotherly love for him but his face came close to breaking her heart now.

Her hand trembled on his arm. His jaw clenched and unclenched and she felt his arm straining beneath her hand. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at his father. "I see, " he said finally, in clipped tones. "I was not aware I was the subject of so much speculation, my Lord," he continued coldly. "You needn't have concerned yourself. I am quite aware of where my responsibility lies. I have been taught well that duty spares no time or thought for love." He briefly looked down at Tauriel and then back to his father.

"I would not dream of straying from that path of duty, my Lord." He inclined his head slightly at Thranduil, his eyes narrowing. He shook off Tauriel's hand on his arm and then abruptly turned and left the room.

Tauriel, her news about the dwarves forgotten, turned to follow him.

"Tauriel?" Thranduil questioned. "If you did not bring my son here to profess his love for you, what was your purpose in seeking me out?"

Tauriel blinked a few times, started to speak, then had to clear her throat and start again. "Sire, I came to bring you news of the prisoners." she answered.

"The prisoners? What news do you have of them?" he countered.

"My lord it seems they could be Elf friends. Lord Elrond hosted them in Rivendell. He gave them not only counsel and shelter, but also aid."

"And what of it? A simple visit with Elrond doesn't give them automatic Elf friend status." Thranduil responded.

"What of it, my Lord?" repeated Tauriel. "But if they have been guests at Imladris my Lord, should we not treat them as guests as well? If they are but passing through our lands?"

"Passing through our lands to wake the dragon and reclaim Erebor! Whatever they may be to Elrond Tauriel the dwarves of Erebor are no friends to the Woodland Realm. I have claim on that treasure that they will not honor. They will get no aid from me." Thranduil asserted.

"No aid, Sire? Aid aside, why do we then keep them here as prisoners? They have no quarrel with us," she finished.

"But I have quarrel with them. They claim what is mine and will not treat with me on that account. Let them rot in our cells. I care not. Thorin Oakenshield persists in the folly of his grandfather. I can wait for him to see reason." Thranduil stated.

"As you see fit, my Lord. I merely wanted you to be aware of what I discovered." Tauriel said softly.

"I thank you for your loyalty, Tauriel. There are no new orders for the dwarves."

Tauriel took a deep breath. "Sire, perhaps they will rethink their stance. They will soon tire of our hospitality and perhaps may see your viewpoint in a different light."

"You are not familiar with the stubbornness of dwarves, Tauriel. Thorin Oakenshield is perhaps one of the most stubborn."

"I shall continue to speak with them, with your leave, Sire. Perhaps some gentle words and kindness may unstiffen their resolve? " Tauriel questioned.

"I certainly don't want them too comfortable here. They may not want to leave us if you cater to their every whim." Thranduil snapped.

"No, Sire. I understand. But perhaps if they become comfortable with us and see that we can be trusted, that will soften their resistance. They do have kind words for Lord Elrond and we are kindred, are we not?" Tauriel reminded him.

"Do what you think best, Tauriel. I care not, as long as they are not released." Thranduil sighed.

"Perhaps reaching out to them one by one. If we reach them all perhaps they can prevail on Thorin to bend." Tauriel mused.

"You have my leave to try. It is high time for the white gems of my family to return to us." He made a small dismissive gesture with his hand and Tauriel bowed and took her leave.

Legolas was not waiting for her in the passage. She hadn't really expected him to be there but she had to find him. She went to the main gate but he wasn't there either. Madir, the guard at the gate, had not seen him. He wasn't in the Great Hall either and she found his chambers empty as well.

If she could not find Legolas as least she could make good on one of her promises to the dwarves. She made her way to the kitchens and found Galion.

"Greetings Galion." Tauriel said to the steward.

"I did not see you at the feast Captain." he responded.

"No, I've been busy with these new prisoners." Tauriel replied.

Galion made a face. "Dwarves. They know nothing of food and wine."

"Speaking of food and wine. . ." Tauriel continued "Galion what have we been feeding the prisoners?

"Why whatever the kitchens are making that day."

"I see. " Tauriel tapped her foot thoughtfully. "My Lord Thranduil has given me leave to attempt to soften these dwarves to treat with him. Perhaps we can adjust their food to more meet their tastes and see if that may soften their attitude?" She raised an eyebrow at him conspiratorially.

"If it is my Lord's wish I will do my best." Galion sighed. "What do you suggest?"

"Do we have any ale on hand?" Tauriel questioned.

"Yes, we do. Not so much but we can certainly get more from the men of Lake-Town."

"Good." Tauriel paced back and forth. "Ale for the mid-day and evening meals, Galion. They are not overly fond of the greens. Do we have more rustic fare perhaps? Fish or soups or stews? Hearty bread and such?"

Galion frowned. "We can certainly get fish from Lake-Town. I will work on soups and stews. We can use the turnips and potatoes to thicken them up, if you think that will do. Bread we have plenty. " He tapped his finger on his lips. "I'll send some cheese down too. Rustic you say." He sighed again. "I'll do my best."

"Thank you Galion." Tauriel said, inclining her head slightly to him.

She had an idea. She left the kitchens and walked down through the cellars to find the small door she and Legolas had used before to reach the ledge. Her instinct was correct. He was there, leaning against the rock wall and staring at the darkening sky. He did not turn when she came onto the ledge. "Legolas." She whispered. He did not turn around.

"I would have defied my father had you given me any sign, Tauriel," he said heavily. "Any sign. Had you given me any hope at all I would have. . ." He stopped speaking as she stepped close to him, laid a hand on his arm and looked up at his face.

"Mellon-nin. I cannot come between my King and his heir! My allegiance must be to the Woodland Realm. I cannot divide the house of Thranduil. You know this cannot be."

"I know now. Before at least I had some hope. Now I have none." He finished bitterly, looking down at her finally.

"I am sorry." she said, seeing the hurt and frustration in his eyes. "It is not meant to be. Our years are waning, mellon. Each year more of our people sail away to the Hidden Lands. You are your father's heir. When he leaves these shores this all will be your domain. You cannot break with him for me."

Legolas sighed. "Enough, Tauriel. I know my duty, as you know yours. It does not mean I must be happy about it. I will abide by my father's will. And I will remain your friend, as long as the years allow us." He finished with a small smile that did not reach his eyes and he squeezed her hand. She smiled up at him and squeezed his hand back. They gazed up at the stars, before making their way back into the palace.


	5. Chapter 5

Legolas paced back and forth in his chambers. What he wouldn't give to be out in the forest right now. He wanted to be among the trees and stars. Or maybe killing spiders he thought as he clenched his fists and continued to pace.

He had not thought he had made his feelings so transparent! He thought back, wondering what his father had seen or heard that made him come to this conclusion. And to bring it up so openly like that? That was not Adar's typical style. He continued pacing.

This was nothing like the time Legolas had met the Evenstar. He shook his head and realized he was blushing just thinking about that. But he had been a much younger elf so many years ago when Elrond and his family had visited the Greenwood. So long ago that Arwen and the twins mother had still been with them.

He walked to the shelf and looked at the small portrait of his mother, ceasing his pacing and letting out his breath in a sigh. He touched the frame gently and then briefly placed his hand on his heart. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. He really needed some air. He crossed the room to the window and opened it, allowing the night breeze to come into his room. He could hear the rustling of the leaves outside. He climbed onto the window sill and sat there, one leg hanging out the window, the other drawn up to his chest, breathing in the fresh air.

Arwen. He had been transfixed when he had met her. Her brothers had teased him endlessly about it during that visit, but he could barely complete a sentence in her presence. He blushed again at the memory. She had been kind-tolerating him as he followed her around, coaxing a few coherent sentences out of him here and there, and giving her brothers a piece of her mind when the teasing got to be too much. It had been obvious then and his behavior even after the Imladris company's departure had been noticed by both his parents.

Thranduil had taken him into his chambers privately after Legolas had brought a scouting report a few days after Arwen and her family had left for Rivendell. He'd gently pointed out that his interest in Arwen had been noted but that the family of Oropher did not countenance closer ties with the Noldor. The Noldor had brought nothing but ruin to the Sindar in general and to their family in specific. Legolas had a duty to the Greenwood and his family. Binding himself to the House of Elrond was not part of that duty. Legolas had taken his father's words to heart and over the years he had come to view Arwen as a friend and his feelings as the youthful infatuation that it was.

But tonight! Adar had not been private about his suspicions at all. It sounded as if he'd been thinking about this for awhile. It certainly sounded like he had already spoken of it to Tauriel.

Tauriel. It couldn't have been comfortable for her to have that kind of conversation with his father either. She would not defy Thranduil, even if Legolas was tempted to do so. He sighed again. He and Adar only had each other now. And they were a kingdom under constant threat. No, he may have told Tauriel tonight that he was prepared to defy Thranduil but in truth perhaps he was not. He knew what his role was and where his duty lay. His personal feelings and aspirations were not as important as the survival of their people and their kingdom.

He rested his head on his bent knee and breathed in the night air. Tauriel was one of his best friends. They understood each other. They would always have that. Their duty was to their King and kingdom. The threat at Dol Guldur was growing. Now dwarves came to wake the menace living in the Lonely Mountain. No, this wasn't a time for personal affections. He knew where his true duty lay.

The next morning's patrols had not made any new discoveries. The spiders had not returned since they day they had found the dwarves. Tauriel had widened the perimeter as a precaution, but all remained clear.

She returned from patrol late in the day. After giving Legolas a brief report, she headed to the prison cells to make her rounds. She greeted the guard at the prison entrance and then made her way down the steps. She noticed Kili moved immediately to his cell door when he heard her voice. He looked up the steps with a hopeful smile.

Tauriel came down, greeting the occupant of each cell briefly. She got no reply from most and glares from Thorin and Dwalin but Bofur came to his cell door as she walked by.

"Thanks for the ale, lass." He winked at her.

She stopped in front of Bofur's cell and smiled at him. "I trust we did a little better with your food today?"

"Oh aye. I'd have asked sooner if I'd known you had such sway with the kitchen staff, lass." he laughed.

She moved her way around the rest of the cells, coming to Kili's last. "All well Kili?" she asked as she paused in front of his cell door.

"Better now that you have returned, my lady." he said, as he had previously.

She tilted her head as she looked at him through the cell door bars. " I spoke with the kitchen staff. I trust all was satisfactory?"

"Ale, bread, cheese and soup." He smiled. "Could have been at an inn back home."

"Where is home for you?" she asked.

His smile faded. He looked down at the floor. "I've lived in the Blue Mountains my whole life. Travelled here and there as the work has taken me."

"So your home is to the West, near the sea. I have never travelled out of the Woodland Realm," she confessed.

"My home is Erebor, my lady. I may have never been in the shadow of the mountain but that is where my family hails from and where we will come home." He looked up at her with fierceness in his gaze.

"You can't have expected to take the mountain with this few," she breathed. He did not answer.

She sat on the step by his cell. "A dragon is a formidable foe. I remember when this one came. I fear you underestimate him."

"My uncle was there. He has not forgotten," Kili replied.

"I would not try this if I had 1000 of the King's warriors with me." She said shaking her head.

"Is that how many you command?" Kili asked her in surprise.

Tauriel laughed. He smiled at the sound of it. "I am but a Captain of the Palace Guard, Kili. No leader of a host. I guard the palace and the perimeter around this stronghold, no more." She sighed. "But you are right. Elf women do not hold with weapons on the whole. Most are healers, gardeners, and caretakers of the land. But I came here as an orphan, ward of the King. My training was not the usual one."

"You are most skilled, Tauriel. I owe you my life. " he paused. "Orphaned?"

"Orc raid in the southern Greenwood. We used to have Elven settlements all through the forest. Now we are only in the fortress. " she replied.

"I am sorry." he said quietly. "You have no family then?"

"I was a ward of King Thranduil until I came of age. The Queen had been long dead when I arrived and it had been many years since there had been a young elf here." She answered.

"What about your prince friend?" asked Kili. "Is he not of your age?"

Tauriel laughed again. "Legolas you mean? No he had come of age long before I arrived. He has many years under the stars. " She laughed again at Kili's facial expression. "It didn't keep me from following him around like I was his shadow though, when I first got here" she continued with another laugh. He smiled at the sound of it again. "I was terrified of being alone, " she explained. "That's how my weapons training started. Legolas had no idea how to entertain an Elf child, so he taught me the skills he knew best."

"It seems you learned quite well. So he is not your. . " Kili paused awkwardly. He knew now he was venturing into a potentially difficult topic.

Tauriel's face grew serious. "Legolas is my oldest friend. He is my mentor, my prince, and my friend. No more." She continued in a colder tone. "I am but a Captain of the Guard and a lowly Silvan elf. I am not a High Elf as is the family of Thranduil."

Kili's relief and joy shone on his face briefly before he controlled himself and took on a slightly more serious demeanor. Tauriel had caught that brief bright joy in his face though and it made her blush and quickly look away.

"Enough about me. I have questions for you too." She spoke quickly to cover the awkwardness. "You traveled with merchants but you do not strike me as a merchant. Your uncle may be heir to Erebor, but what of you?"

"My brother and I have some skills," he smiled. "Whether it be weapons, metal work or fighting, we've done it."

"Which one is your brother?" Tauriel asked.

"Fili. He's the blond one with the beard and mustache in braids. Not quite as handsome as me so you mightn't have noticed him." He grinned.

"Oh him. Yes, three cells down. All the knives. " Tauriel nodded.

Kili's face fell. "So you did notice him."

"It's my job to notice all of you." She countered. "So you were guarding the merchants from Ered Luin?"

"Yes. It was right after I came of age."

"And when was that?" she asked.

"Two years ago." He said in a slightly deeper tone of voice.

"How old would that make you?"she asked curiously.

"Uh, 77." he replied.

Tauriel laughed again. "Oh, but you are so young!"

Kili frowned at her.

"I mean no disrespect," she said quickly. "I am over 600 years of age so 77 seems so long ago. It that why you don't have much of a beard?" she asked.

Laughter boomed out of the closest cells as his fellow dwarves heard her question. Kili rolled his eyes and gently banged his head on the cell door bars. "Oh, I shall never live this one down." He closed his eyes, a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

Tauriel blushed also and quickly laid her fingertips on his hand that was clutching the bars. "I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me to be so impolite."

"Don't apologize, lass," said Bofur from the next cell over. "Between the ale and this, I'm willing to forgive all my grudges towards you." He laughed again.

"Not much of a beard!" Dwalin repeated with a hearty laugh, down the line of cells. "I don't like you Elf but I'll certainly thank you for that!"

Kili shook his head and looked up at Tauriel. "I keep it short so it doesn't hamper my bow arm. " He said this in a loud voice that carried through to the lower cells. Guffaws of dwarvish laughter washed out of the cells around them.

Tauriel stood up quickly. "I think I should go." She said this kindly to Kili, still blushing. She patted his hand again, as she stood up.

He looked up at her solemnly and then gave her a wink. "You've made some friends today I think. " he whispered, as a grin took over his face. "When will you be back?"

"I'll be back tomorrow." She turned and quickly went up the steps. Kili watched her climb the stairs. It was becoming a habit for him. He marked the hours of captivity by her coming and going now.

Mutters of "not much of a beard," interspersed with more laughter continued through the cellblock for some time.

Kili sat on the bench in his cell and smiled. Let them make fun of him. She'd willingly sat and talked with him again today. He'd made her laugh and she'd touched his hand. It was a good day after all.

Tauriel raced out of the cells. Her cheeks were still burning. She had had no intention of getting into such a personal conversation. She had no idea what had come over her.

He was just so easy to talk to she thought, as she walked towards the main hall. Maybe that was it. She had few friends and as the only female elf among the guards she had always held herself apart from the others, never feeling that she quite fit in.

But Kili made her feel very different emotions than those she felt with her fellow guards. It was confusing, the variety of emotions. She was amused, embarrassed and most concerning of all, wildly curious about him.

She shook herself. She was curious about the outside world. As she had told Kili she had never been far outside the Woodland Realm. She had met some of the Lake-Town men, when she patrolled the borders near their town. But she had not had many interactions with outsiders, even the men of Lake-Town. Those were brief conversation, at best.

She had met Elves from Rivendell on their visits to Thranduil. She had even met the wizards Radagast and Mithrandir, on their travels through the forest. But she had not met dwarves before and she was a bit taken aback at her deep curiosity about them.

It looked like she would have time to learn. It didn't look like these dwarves were going anywhere.


	6. Chapter 6

Tauriel had the late patrol the next day. She had an idea to try with the dwarves. In the morning she went in search of one of her fellow guards. She found Hadron in the kitchens. He was slated to join her on the late patrol.

"Good morning Hadron. " she greeted him.

"Captain," he nodded.

"Since we have the late patrol I was wondering if you could help me with the prisoners this morning," she asked.

Hadron made a slightly disgusted face. "Ugh, these dwarves." he said, shaking his head. "The smell."

Tauriel bit her lip to keep from saying something she might regret. She smiled instead and said brightly "I think you'll find this will help with the smell actually."

They headed to the prison ward and she filled him in on the morning plan. "You are sure the King does not object, Tauriel?" he asked dubiously.

"King Thranduil said if I could get them to treat with him I could use whatever means necessary. I intend to do my best. They seem to get more blustery and stubborn when we push so I thought I would try a softer way." They entered the cellblock and she went straight to Balin's cell. She noticed Kili stood immediately when he heard her voice and made his way to his cell door as she passed but she did not stop. She nodded to each dwarf as she passed the cells.

She stopped and opened Balin's cell door. Every other dwarf was now at his own cell door, watching her intently. Balin stayed seated, eyeing her warily.

"Come master dwarf," she said, waving him towards her. "I have a treat for you."

"Don't move Balin!" Thorin shouted from his cell.

Balin stared hard at Tauriel. He saw her smile tremble a bit. "I mean you no harm, master dwarf," she said quietly.

"Aye lass, you might not, but there are others who might not feel the same way." he replied.

"You asked me for something the other day. I am doing my best to honor your wish. Now please come out here. I will need to bind your hands and blindfold you but trust me you will come to no harm. " She held her hand out to him.

"Balin, NO!" Thorin boomed.

"Peace, Thorin. I've had quite enough of the view from my cell the last few days. The lass is a right pleasanter view than Bombur across the way." Balin countered. He stood up and made his way to Tauriel. He held out his arms and she placed manacles and a short stretch of chain on his wrists while Hadron tied a blindfold over his eyes.

"Now I will hold your hand and lead you out. Follow my words and I promise you won't miss your step." Tauriel grasped Balin's hand and slowly guided him up the stairs, Hadron following them.

"You shall pay with your life should any harm come to him, Elf! " Thorin shouted at their retreating figures and then they were gone.

Kili watched her intently as she went through the doors with Balin and then he sat down, pulled his runestone from his pocket and began to wait.

Tauriel led Balin to the upper levels and the three of them made their slow progress through the palace until they reached one of the outer doors. After they passed through it she removed Balin's blindfold.

He took a deep breath, looked around and then turned to her again, bowing deeply. "Thank you lass. I see what you mean by a treat."

They were in the gardens of the palace. Trees had been cleared and a large vegetable garden was laid out next to the palace, with a stout, tall wall protecting it from the forest proper. The sun shone down on Balin and a breeze blew the leaves of the trees over the wall.

Balin closed his eyes, took another deep breath and then laughed. Tauriel beamed at him. "I told you I meant you no harm" she said.

"Aye lass I knew you didn't mean me any harm. I didn't realize you meant to grant my wish for some sun and fresh air."

"You are most welcome, master dwarf." she answered.

"You might as well call me Balin, lass."

"I am Tauriel, Balin," she replied.

"At your service, Tauriel." he said, bowing to her.

She sensed this was not an offhand comment but a cultural phrase. "What is the correct reply?" she asked.

Balin's eyes widened in surprise. "Why it's customary to say 'at yours and your family's' at this point." he stated.

Tauriel gracefully inclined her head at Balin. "At yours and your family's Balin." she smiled. "Come Balin you may walk with me and let me know if there is any green thing here you dwarves actually like to eat!" She set off strolling through the garden with Balin at her side while Hadron kept watch at a distance.

"We're partial to carrots and potatoes but I can't say as those count as greens." Balin said. "Now that we are alone, lass, tell me what's the purpose of this trip. I've got nothing to tell you that Thorin hasn't already told your King." he continued in a much lower tone, after they had moved a distance from Hadron.

"I have no purpose for this outing Balin other than as a way for you to get some fresh air and sun. We Wood Elves are not evil and bear you and your companions no ill will." Tauriel replied quietly.

Balin said nothing but gave her a puzzled look. They continued to walk in silence, Balin occasionally pausing to breathe in the air, or gaze up at the sky.

"Aye this is a right treat, lass." he sighed. He shook his head and gave her a serious look. "There is old strife between your King and Thorin's grandfather. I had hoped Thorin would make a deal with Thranduil and that they would put aside their quarrel and bury the past offences, but I was wrong it seems."

"King Thranduil is open to freeing you and your company and even to providing you with aid and supplies to reach the mountain." Tauriel murmured. "He will do this willingly if your Thorin will treat with him regarding what is his."

"He told Thorin as much, lass. As time passes Thorin may reconsider, although that is not his style. Time is against us on this mission."

"Time is of little concern to Elves, Balin. We measure time in years not days."

"Aye, that's what worries me." Balin agreed. They walked in silence a while longer until Tauriel turned to him.

"Balin, it is time I take you back. The time has been short but I hope you have enjoyed your sun and breeze." Tauriel smiled down at him.

Balin bowed to her again. "It was a most unexpected but most welcome surprise. Thank you."

"Perhaps you can assure Thorin that no harm is meant to him or to his companions. It might shorten your time as guests in this land if he realizes that." Tauriel answered.

"One can only hope." Balin replied as she placed the blindfold over his eyes again and led him back to the prison cells.

Every dwarf was pressed against the cell bars as Tauriel walked Balin back down to his cell and removed the blindfold and manacles.

"Thank you, lass," he said as she shut the door to his cell. "That was a rare treat."

"You are most welcome, Balin," she smiled. Stony stares met her as she walked by the other cells. She murmured greetings to them as she went by that went unanswered but for Kili. "How fare you, Kili?" she asked as she walked by his cell.

"Better now that you are here, my lady," he replied, as he had every other time she had asked him this question. She smiled at him. She knew the dwarves were anxious to question Balin. "I am glad to hear it. " she said to Kili. "I will speak with you later tonight," she whispered softly as she passed his cell. He gave her a small smile and nodded. Tauriel was thankful her face was turned to the stairs as she was blushing again.

The dwarves started speaking all at once as the door closed behind her and they were alone in their cells once more.

"Quiet all of you!" shouted Balin. "I can't hear you when you all go at once and I am not going to be repeating myself twelve times. Quiet now!" The voices settled except for a low grumble from Oin, who hadn't heard Balin well. "I am unhurt." Balin continued. "The lass was true to her word. She meant no harm and she's done me a world of good, honestly."

"What do you mean by that?" Thorin asked.

"She asked me the other day if I needed anything and in jest I replied 'some sun and fresh air.' That's what she gave me. She took me to the gardens for a breath of fresh air and a stroll in the sunshine. That's all."

"Did you find any means of escape from this hole?" Dwalin growled.

"As I said Dwalin, all she did was give me a breather outside. I was blindfolded there and back. There was no chance to scout an escape route. It was just an act of kindness on her part."

"And what did she want in return for this so-called 'kindness', Balin?" Thorin asked tensely.

"Thorin. Stop looking for malice where there is none! This was no deal making conversation. The lass is simply kindly and not used to having prisoners likely. She simply tried to make my stay a little less unpleasant. Compared to the hospitality of the goblins and what we might expect from Smaug, I can't say this is our most unpleasant lodging, though I'd rather be on the road to Erebor than here." Balin finished.

Thorin slammed his hand against the bars of his cell but said no more.

"I wonder if I can get her to let me out for a bit of sun?" Bofur mused.

"It can't hurt to ask," replied Balin. "That's all it took for me."

"Aye," said Bofur. "I already got the ale I asked her for. No harm in asking for some sun."

Tauriel and her fellow guards returned from late patrol after sundown. She gave her report, which was basically nothing to report and then ate her evening meal with her company.

Legolas found her after dinner. "I hear you took a garden tour today." he said as he fell in step with her.

"Yes, a lovely tour of the carrot and potato crop!" she laughed, as she looked up at him.

He did not smile back. "What was the meaning of that excursion, Tauriel? I can't imagine my father approving." Legolas said.

" I cleared it with him, mellon. Perhaps not in so many words as 'garden tour' but I did ask if I could try some kindness to see if I could soften these dwarves, make them see we mean them no harm and even help them, if they are willing to work with your father."

"Kindness? Tauriel, since when do dwarves merit kindness from us?" Legolas asked sharply.

"You sound just like your father when you say that, Legolas." Tauriel sighed. He flashed her an annoyed look. "Mellon, are we not all part of this world? Do we not share the sky, the earth, the air? Do we not fight a common enemy? If yes, then why must we fight amongst ourselves? We are different from the men of Lake-Town yet we live together side by side in peace. We may have petty quarrels with the dwarves but we fight the same foes. Should they claim the mountain we would be fools not to be allies, to share in the wealth, the food, in resources to strengthen both our kingdoms. Is that not a better way to move forward?"

"You are naïve and unused to the world, Tauriel. You know little of the world outside our realm." Legolas scoffed.

"Then let me learn, Legolas! I have learned of men first hand near Laketown. I have learned of orcs first hand. Now I have a chance to learn of dwarves. I cannot judge what I do not know." Tauriel replied.

"If my father has his way it seems you shall have plenty of time to study these dwarves." Legolas said with a grimace.

"I'm afraid you are right," she agreed. "They seem no less suspicious and stubborn, from what I've seen."

"I can't argue with you on that. Seems you've had a lesson in that from them already." Legolas said, a slow smile appearing on his face.

"I'll take some others tomorrow and see what happens. I'm not on patrol the next two days." Tauriel said.

"I will go out tomorrow with the guard but perhaps I will see what entertainment your 'garden tours' hold before I go." He smirked.

"You are welcome to join me any time, but you must be civil." Tauriel answered.

"Civil? I am always civil." Legolas replied.

"Brother? Goblin mutant? I'd say you weren't all that civil to the red haired one about his wife and child!" Tauriel laughed.

Legolas laughed with her. "Well you would have said the same if you had seen those awful likenesses! That child is pitifully ugly. And no wonder they stare at you! Their women look like them!" He laughed again and put his arm on her shoulder. "Well, it will take all the fun out of it if I have to be civil." he said, shaking his head. "But enough about these dwarves. Let's see what's going on in the great hall, shall we?" Tauriel nodded as they made their way towards the sound of singing.


	7. Chapter 7

Tauriel was grateful Legolas seemed to have regained his good humor and that they had gone back to their friendly companionship tonight. She had looked up to him and loved him from her first days here and she could not bear to see her best friend hurt and withdrawn from her. Tonight had been like the old days and she was content. One more task awaited her tonight—her nightly rounds in the prison cells.

There had been few, if any, prisoners in all her guard days before these dwarves were captured. She had decided to round nightly when they first arrived but she had not expected them to stay long. It seemed she was going to be rounding for a while.

Tonight was a little later than the other nights she had gone to the cells. Tauriel expected the dwarves might be asleep. She greeted the evening cellblock guard. "How goes it Daeron?" she asked him.

"All well, Captain. They've eaten well. They've quieted down a bit tonight. I expect you'll find them all asleep by now. Except perhaps the young one. He's been staring up at these steps every time I've looked in on them tonight." Daeron responded.

Tauriel thought she knew to whom Daeron was referring. It always seemed Kili was there to greet her when she came and went. She was getting used to stopping and talking with him. She hoped Daeron was right and that Kili was still there, awake and waiting for her.

She blushed at the thought. She really looked forward to this time each day. She would have to make sure she didn't embarrass him again, as she had the night before.

It was darker in the cells tonight but as she came down the first steps she saw the light shine on his face as he stood by his cell door, looking up at her. His face lit up at the sight of her and it made her catch her breath. Her heart beat a little faster. He had waited for her. Snores wafted out of the cells around her and every cell she passed had a sleeping dwarf in it, even Thorin's cell. She walked around, coming to Kili last.

"I'd almost given up on you," he said very quietly.

"I said I would be back," she replied just as quietly. "How goes it with you, Kili?" she asked, hoping he would give her his standard reply. She had come to expect it. She wasn't disappointed.

"Better now that you are here, my lady. " He smiled at her and she found herself smiling back at him, her heart beating even faster.

"You say that every time I ask you." she said.

"It's true, Tauriel. There is but one bright spot to being imprisoned here and it is you." he said earnestly. "I count the hours to your visits every day."

She drew close to the bars of his cell so she would not have to speak above a whisper. "I look forward to it too," she confessed, looking down at her feet. She placed one hand on the horizontal cross bar of his cell door. He placed his hand over hers and looked up into her face. His hand was warm and closed over hers. She looked into his eyes, smiling and placed her other hand on top of his. They gazed at each other silently for a moment.

She quickly looked around the cellblock and up the stairs. No one else was around or awake. "I would free you if I could." she whispered. "But I cannot. I am so sorry."

"I would not expect you to defy your King for us, Tauriel. You are too honorable for that. The time is passing and our days to reach the mountain before winter do grow short. But I cannot say I am in any hurry to leave you." He squeezed her hand lightly.

"I doubt your companions share your viewpoint." Tauriel replied.

"You made Balin quite happy today, " he said. "That was very kind."

"I'm glad I did it then. He seems to be a wise man, er, dwarf." She said awkwardly.

"That he is. Bofur appreciated the ale, I can tell you. Are you trying to win us all over?"

Tauriel stifled a laugh. "I doubt I could get any of your company to think kindly of an Elf!" She shook her head. "No, I know we are different but there is much we share also. I have never met dwarves before. I would like to learn more about you, your customs, your likes. I think it will help us understand each other better," she finished.

He grinned at her. "Well I have no reservations about getting to know you better. Or having you get to know me better." He winked up at her.

"So tell me truly," she said, with a sly look at him "Do you really trim your beard or has it not come in yet?"

He pulled his hand out of hers and gripped the cell bars, pushing his face as close to the bars as he could. "It's a bit of both," he whispered. "It's not come in much but when it does I can't be bothered with beads and braids like Fili—it will interfere with my bowstring."

She reached a hand through the bars, up to his face, and gently stroked his beard. She couldn't actually believe it was her hand she was watching touch his face. It felt so much softer than she expected. She startled and went to quickly pull her hand away but Kili grabbed it and kept it on his cheek. "Elves have no beards," she said shyly, as if in explanation.

"I've barely got one," he said ruefully. "But what I've got is all yours to examine."

"I expected it to be rough, but it's not. I like it." She pulled her hand away firmly now. "Kili, I must go. The hour is late and you must rest."

"I don't expect to get much rest. I do nothing all day to tire me and I'll be thinking of you until I see you again." he replied. "Will you be back tomorrow?"

"I have no patrol duties tomorrow. I was thinking I would take a few more of your companions out into the garden. Do you think that will be acceptable?"

"Acceptable? I'm ready for it!"

"Well, I wasn't thinking I should take you next. . ." she started to say.

"Oh." His face clouded.

"At least not tomorrow, " she added quickly. "It seems I've gotten you in enough trouble with your uncle already."

"Good thought, although I would rather have some uninterrupted time with you, away from all these listening ears." he whispered. "Who were you thinking of taking next?"

"Well the one in the cell next to you, for one."

"Bofur. " he said. "Good choice. He already likes you for the ale."

"Then the young one, across the way."

"Ori." He nodded. "Another good choice. You've nothing to fear from him."

"I don't fear any of you." she said sternly, glaring at him. "None of you are a match for me."

He raised one eyebrow at her. "I meant you needn't fear he'd give you any attitude. Nothing more. I've seen you fight."

"Oh." She made a face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to brag. . ."

"Stop." he said. "I know. We're still getting to know each other and understand each other." He paused and looked up at her seriously. "I wouldn't suggest taking Dwalin or Thorin. Not yet."

"I doubt they'd come, other than to try to escape." she said. He nodded at her words.

"I might want to take your brother, " she said slowly.

"My brother? Fili? Why him? He's likely to be as troublesome as Dwalin!"

"He might have some interesting insight on you." She grinned at him.

Kili gently banged his head on the cell bars. "Insight. I don't think I'd call it that. It'll probably be even worse than the beard comment."

"Then I think I shall most definitely take Fili." She winked at him. He groaned. "I will see you tomorrow Kili. And don't worry—I will find a chance to get you out soon."

He quickly caught her hand and held it. "I look forward to that more than you know."

She squeezed his hand and then pulled it away. "I must really go now." She gently stroked his cheek with her finger and turned and left silently.

Kili watched her climb the stairs, as he did every night. He stayed there long into the night, remembering the feel of her hand on his and her gentle touch on his face. The dwarves around him slept on, unaware.

Kili woke the next morning, later than usual. He looked around the cells.

"She took Bofur. " Ori called from across the cells, when he saw Kili was awake.

"She tries to distract this company." Thorin growled, pacing in his cell. "First the ridiculous questions to my easily distracted nephew. Then Balin. Now Bofur. What is she trying to accomplish?"

Balin sighed. "Thorin. It's harmless. I told you she is only being kind." He shook his head. "I think the lass is lonely. I've not ever heard of an Elf-maid being a warrior. She is likely the only one of her kind. Can't be easy."

"That is not my concern Balin. I am not here to befriend a lonely She-Elf. This must stop." Thorin boomed.

"I'd be willing to take a turn out of here with her Thorin." said Dwalin unexpectedly. Kili couldn't help glaring at him from his cell. "Calm yourself Kili, she's too ugly for me." Dwalin barked at Kili, seeing his look. "I'd like to know how far and what direction the gate is. How close are we to the river and Lake-Town? I won't find that out in here." he finished. "And I'd like to know more about how guarded this cell is. Thorin if she asks me to go I will, whether you like it or not." Dwalin glared in Thorin's direction.

"I still don't like it but perhaps you are right Dwalin," Thorin admitted. "Maybe you can get more information out of her than my besotted nephew," he spat.

The day passed quietly. Bofur returned, with a story similar to Balin's. Ori left with Tauriel and Davod, the other elf guard, for the gardens.

He returned a few hours later, smiling for the first time since they were captured. He didn't say much other than "Balin's right, Dwalin. She's only being nice. She didn't ask me any questions or try to get me to talk. I think she's nice." he finished quietly, as Dori smacked him on the shoulder in an irritated way to shut him up.

Kili caught her eye as she returned with Ori and she gave him a small smile. She walked straight to Fili's cell. He wasn't expecting the summons so he only looked up when he heard his cell door open. He shook his head "no" and stayed seated in his cell.

Tauriel spoke kindly to him "Would you not like a bit of fresh air and sunshine?"

"I'd rather not." he said gruffly. Kili closed his eyes as he sat in his cell. He was ready to speak out to Fili but thought better of it as he heard Dwalin bark at Fili. "Get yourself out there lad! I'd go myself if she asked me." Dwalin said, staring coldly at Tauriel.

Fili stalked to his feet and followed Tauriel out, receiving his blindfold and manacles grumpily. She guided him out of the cellblock.

He tried to count his paces, so he could report back to Thorin and Dwalin. He tried to keep track of the left and right turns. He could smell the gardens when they reached them and he felt the warmth of the sun and the breeze before his blindfold was removed.

He took a deep breath and gazed around. He was at the edge of the forest, near a tall wall that surrounded the gardens. In the distance he could see the Lonely Mountain over the treetops. He was so busy scanning the area he didn't realize Tauriel was speaking to him.

" I cannot take your manacles off Fili but would you care to walk a bit and stretch your legs?" she asked him kindly.

"Who told you my name?" he asked curtly.

"It seemed poor form to simply call you 'Dwarf'. Your brother told me your name," she answered. "He seemed to not like being called 'Dwarf' so I assumed you felt the same." She bowed her head slightly at him. "Forgive me for being wrong about that."

Fili looked around again, ignoring Tauriel. He wanted to get a closer look at those walls. He started towards them and Tauriel fell in step with him silently. They walked around the garden wordlessly. Tauriel glanced down at Fili periodically.

"You don't look much alike." she observed finally. Fili did not answer. The walls were too high to climb or jump and he couldn't see any sign of stairs. He continued scanning the area as they walked, barely registering Tauriel's words.

She tapped him on the shoulder, looking down at him sternly when he looked up at her in annoyance. She spoke very quietly "Could you be a little less obvious about scouting the area out for an escape route?" Fili stared at her. "It will make it a little more difficult for me to let any of the rest of you out if you keep this up." she whispered. "Davod is watching you, whether you have noticed him or not. " she said, her eyes sliding towards the other guard. "I doubt your companions will take it too kindly if you compromise their chance for a bit of time outside. Your brother certainly seems to be looking forward to some fresh air. " She looked down at him and narrowed her eyes.

"He's likely looking forward to mooning around out here after you. I doubt he'd notice much of the scenery." Fili grumbled.

"Well I think you've committed it to memory for him." Tauriel countered.

"What are you up to?" he asked her bluntly.

" I am not 'up to' anything. I do not know how long King Thranduil plans to keep you prisoners. I know your leader told him about your quest. I know that time is passing and you are on some sort of schedule. I know no more. But I do know I am in charge of you and your company. I bear you no ill will. I am simply trying to let you pass the days in something more than utter boredom." She finished and then blew out her breath in an exasperated manner. She shook her head and then looked down at him more gently. "I have no quarrel with you, Fili." she repeated.

Fili looked down. He'd had little enough to do with Elves before the quest to Erebor. He had learned to hate and distrust them under Thorin's roof. He was more than a little confused. The Elves he had met so far had done nothing other than aid them or save them. The King and his son were cold and insulting but now he realized they were no more so than Thorin and Dwalin were to them. Lord Elrond had been kind and helpful from the first. This Elf had saved Kili's life in the forest. He'd seen that with his own eyes. There had been no reason to do so but she had done it anyway. While they were assuredly prisoners, they truly lacked no comforts, save a bath.

He felt embarrassed and that made his tone gruffer than he intended when he said to her "I'm grateful for the outing. I know you are doing the best you can." He stopped and looked up at her. "We can be a bit of a surly lot, especially around Elves. You have my thanks." He bowed. "Fili at your service," he added.

"Tauriel at yours and your family's," she responded, with a slight bow back.

Fili's eyes widened in surprise. "Who taught you that?" he asked.

She laughed. "Balin was a bit more forthcoming about customs and diet of dwarven folk."

They walked in silence for a little longer. "I may have misjudged you, Tauriel," Fili said. "But I'm not thinking Thorin and your King will be seeing eye to eye anytime soon."

"I don't know what their quarrel is but I know if it was resolved you would be on your way, with our aid rather than our curses." She stopped and looked at the sky. "I'm afraid it's time to take you back, Fili."

He looked up at the sky and towards the Lonely Mountain in the distance. "I wish we were on our way," he said. He turned around and breathed in the air. "All right." he said. "I'm ready to go back."

She put the blindfold on him, bending forward to tie it around his eyes. "Be gentle with my brother, Tauriel," he whispered to her. "I've seen the way he looks at you. If we ever get released I fear he will leave his heart behind with you."

Tauriel's eyes widened and she squeezed Fili's shoulder. "I could not find it in my heart to be anything but gentle to your brother. He is a rare soul." She whispered back.

They returned to the cells in silence. Fili didn't bother to count paces or turns this time. It had been too much to remember the first time anyway. Tauriel took him back to his cell and left with Davon.

"Fili?" Thorin questioned.

"Yes uncle?" he replied.

"What of it?" Thorin growled.

"Nothing much to add Uncle. The gardens face the Lonely Mountain but there is no way to scale the walls without a ladder. The route from here to the gate was so full of turns and twists, ups and downs, that I doubt any dwarf could find the path again." Fili answered.

"I'd like to try it," said Dwalin gruffly.

"I'd like to see you try, Dwalin," replied Fili. "I did my best to keep it straight but I couldn't."

"Nor could I, lad, nor could I,"Balin added. He paused and then directed his words to Thorin. "Thorin, the days go past. Our time is dwindling. Have you considered meeting with the King again? Is it not time to reconsider his offer, to get us on the road again? We will surely miss Durin's Day if we don't leave here soon. It's been most of a week already, lad."

"I have no mind to bandy words with Thranduil," Thorin roared.

"Then don't!" Dwalin interjected. "Just tell him you'll give him his damn white gems and let's get on the road!" He banged his hand on the stone wall of his cell. "We've got nothing now and we'll have nothing later if we don't get out of here!" he barked. " What's a chest of white gems when we have the whole mountain? Enough Thorin! Think on it. Winter comes." Dwalin sat heavily on the bench in his cell.

Thorin slammed his hand on his cell bars but said nothing more. Balin shook his head and sat down. Thorin wasn't making this any easier for any of them. Balin wondered again what had happened to Bilbo. He had not seen the hobbit since the battle with the spiders, when the Elves had captured them.

"There's more to him than meets the eye, "Balin said to himself. "That's what Gandalf always said. I hope the poor fellow is all right."


	8. Chapter 8

The next day there was no visit from Tauriel. Daeron and Hadon came and took Oin, Gloin and Dori out. Their trips were shorter than the ones the others had with Tauriel, but they were still grateful for the outing.

Thorin said nothing. He did not question them on their return and ate little of his food. He paced in his cell most of the day.

Kili tossed his rune stone. There was really nothing else to do. He heard Bofur quietly singing to himself in the cell next door. Kili had been hoping that today would be his turn out of the cells but he was thankful it was not; he wanted time with Tauriel, not these tall Elvish guards. He had not had a chance to speak with Tauriel the day before. She'd returned with Fili but had not lingered. He hoped Fili had been civil to her.

"Confound that wizard and that burglar!" muttered Thorin. "We've need of them to get out of this place." he growled.

"Not if you make the deal with the King." Balin reminded him.

"We'll be giving all the treasure away before we even get it Balin!" Thorin thundered.

"If we don't get it then there's none to give away. And if we do get it, why there's more in the mountain than we can handle." Balin countered.

"I can handle a fair bit," said Gloin, in answer to Balin.

"You'll be no King under the Mountain Thorin if we never get to that mountain!" said Dwalin.

"Enough!" said Thorin. " I will keep my own counsel and I would thank you to do the same."

Silence fell over the cells again. Faint sounds of music and voices could be heard in the distant upper levels. "They certainly like their feasting, these Elves do." said Bofur quietly. "Sounds like they're at it again tonight, eh?" No one replied. He went back to singing to himself quietly.

Tauriel entered the silent cells. She had gone on patrol with Legolas and had returned late. They had found nothing unusual again today. Another series of feasts were planned for these nights, a celebration of Autumn and the changing of the seasons. Tauriel had little appetite for feasts these days. With all the elves occupied she thought she would take her chance to take Kili out on her own. She just didn't feel like waiting for tomorrow for some reason. Daeron and Hadon had given her a full report of the day and by their account the dwarves had been no trouble. Davon was guarding the cellblock tonight. She greeted him as she entered the cells.

"Late night patrolling, Tauriel?" he asked her.

"Not too late, sun's just going down." she replied with a smile. "All well here?"

"They've been no trouble. I think they like your garden trips. Staying on their best behavior in hopes you'll keep taking them out I think." He smiled back.

"I know it's late but I think I'll take one last trip out tonight with one of them." she said casually.

"You don't think it's too late Tauriel? I can't go with you and the rest are all feasting by now."

" No, I'll be fine Davon. I can easily handle one dwarf. He won't get the sunshine but I think the stars are a better view anyway." Tauriel answered.

Davon smiled. "I think the stars are a better view also." His face grew serious again. "You are all right on your own Tauriel? They may be small but they seem fierce and strong."

"Davon I can manage them quite easily. One is no worry to me." She smiled at him and turned to go down to the cellblock.

She made her way down silently and stopped at Kili's cell. "How goes it Kili?" she whispered. He had not heard her approach this time and was sitting in his cell. He stood quickly and crossed the few steps to the cell door.

"Better now that you are here, my lady." he smiled.

"I know it's late and you may not get much sun, if any, but would you like to take a visit outside with me?" she asked quietly.

"I can think of nothing I would rather do." he replied. He noticed she was alone, unlike the other excursions there was no other Elf with her tonight.

Dwalin had noticed too. He raised his eyes and stared at Kili from across the cellblock. He nodded his head slightly towards Tauriel and looked at Kili again.

Dwalin wanted him to try to overpower her because she was alone. Kili wondered if Dwalin had seen her fight the spiders in the forest. He doubted it. Kili was unarmed and he knew Tauriel was faster than he was. Although he knew he ought to try to make a break for it, he didn't want to. He wouldn't be able to hold her off for long and the result would be that they would be worse off. He knew there was a guard at the top of the stairs who would come as soon as he heard anything unusual. It wasn't worth the risk.

He shook his head slightly at Dwalin, signaling 'no' as he walked towards Tauriel to have her place the manacles and blindfold. Dwalin grunted and turned away, spitting loudly into a corner of his cell in disgust. "What a waste!" he grunted.

Tauriel looked at him curiously and opened her mouth but Kili stepped on her foot to make her look at him and shook his head 'no' at her now. She looked puzzled but said nothing, proceeding with the blindfold.

"Don't keep the lass out too late, Kili." called Bofur. "You don't want her to miss the party upstairs."

"They'll be at it for awhile," Tauriel replied kindly. "Tonight is just the start. The big feast comes tomorrow, as we reach the end of Autumn." She guided Kili towards the stairs and they moved through the palace. Kili could hear music more clearly and the sound of many voices. He heard louder voices and then the smell of food, surrounding him.

"Have you brought me to the kitchens, Tauriel?" he asked.

"More observant than your friends," she stated. "Although it's hard to avoid the smell of food on a feast night."

"A trip out this late Tauriel?" a voice said.

"One last one for tonight, Galion," Tauriel replied.

"Don't miss the feast!" Galion ordered.

"I wouldn't, although I know you will outdo yourself tomorrow." Tauriel guided Kili to the side and he heard her open a door and shut it behind her.

She took off his blindfold. The sun was setting and a chill was in the air. The Lonely Mountain was awash with reds and golds. It was so near! He gazed at it. Not as near as he had originally thought. It was still a way down to the river to Lake-Town and then on to Dale and the mountain itself. The air was clear and fresh, smelling of flowers and vegetables at the same time. He took a deep breath and turned to Tauriel. "I do not mind the time. The mountain is glorious in the sunset." he said to her.

" I thought you might appreciate it more than the others. Come, let us walk. I know you've been confined in that small cell too long." They walked around the garden in companionable silence. The sun set quickly and the stars began to show. "The full autumn moon is still a few nights away," she continued. "The stars will be bright tonight before moonrise." She put her hand on his shoulder gently and guided him toward the wall. "Come this way." He felt her fingertips, warm and steady, on his shoulder. She led him right up to the far wall.

She stopped and turned to him. "What was that exchange with Dwalin all about?" she asked.

Kili looked directly up into her green eyes. "He wanted me to overpower you and let them out." he said truthfully. " I wouldn't do it."

"You are unarmed and I have knives and sword." she said seriously.

"I know that. I know how you fight. I doubt I would have lasted a minute against you." He kept his eyes on hers. "But that's not why I said no. I couldn't betray your trust like that." He looked down and then back up again at her. "I knew it would harm you. Not me harming you." He corrected himself. "I might have given you a bruise or such but that's not what I mean. The lasting harm to you would come from your fellow guards and your King. He would know you had misjudged us. I couldn't do that to you."

Tauriel stared at him. "It seems I have misjudged after all." she said. "I've been prepared for an attack each time I've come for one of you," she confessed. "Even tonight," she added in a softer voice.

"But you came alone!" Kili protested. "One dwarf may not be able to overpower an armed Elf but it could have ended badly anyway. You could have still been hurt and your standing with the King damaged also."

Tauriel went down on one knee in front of Kili so they were eye to eye. "I know this Kili. I am prepared for battle. I was not prepared to have you defend my honor."

"You thought I would attack you tonight." he spoke slowly. "You planned for it?" he said, looking at her in disbelief.

"No," she said shaking her head. "I did not." She looked down. "I took a risk tonight. A great one, I know. I didn't bring anyone with me not because I wanted to set you up." She paused and took a deep breath a spoke again. "I came alone because I wanted to be with you. Alone. Without the others watching or listening. I knew it was a risk. I knew the idea might come to you that you could overpower me, even armed as I was. I was prepared that I might have to harm you, instead of just spending time with you."

She continued to look down, her voice very quiet. "It was a stupid risk. For all the reasons you mention. I don't mean to dishonor you by saying I would best you had it come to hand to hand combat." She looked into his eyes now and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I just trusted that even if given the chance, you wouldn't do it. I was right but it still was a foolish thing to do."

He reached for her hand but paused as the manacles got in the way. "The only foolish thing I have seen you do." he whispered. "I would never betray your trust."

"I know that." She said. "But now I have dishonored you to your companions. She brushed the tears away roughly. "They will not laugh this one off, Kili. I have dishonored you to your friends and family."

He reached up and awkwardly swept a tear away with his manacled hands. "Not to worry about that Tauriel. I'm the only one that's really seen you fight. It would only have made our position worse with your King. I wouldn't have made it out of there without the other guard stopping me. I can talk it around to political prudence on my part, rather than my own cowardice. Eventually. " He sighed, awkwardly continuing to stroke her cheek softly. She reached for his hands and unlocked the manacles, to his shock.

"What are you doing?" he said sharply. "If anyone finds me like this you will be in great trouble Tauriel!"

"There is no one to find us. All are at the feast by now. They will not miss me. I rarely go as is." She held his hands and looked at him. "I did not want to bring you here as a prisoner tonight Kili. I wanted to bring you as a friend." She gave him a shadow of a smile. "Look up." She said in a whisper. He looked up. Night had fallen as they argued and now the sky above was filled with stars. There was not much of a moon yet to rob them of their light. They took his breath away.

"Tauriel. . ." he began but she put a hand up to stop him.

"Come this way, Kili. " She led him to the wall. Carved into the stone at intervals were small ledges meant to be used as steps. Fili had not been close enough to see them yesterday. "Go on up." she said, gesturing to the ledges. He grabbed onto one and started to climb, quickly becoming aware that the distances were made for those of Elven height, not dwarven height.

She followed behind him gracefully, keeping her eyes on him. They reached the top of the wall and she sat on a shelf built into the top, motioning for him to join her. He sat next to her and looked up. The stars spread across the sky. He glanced at her next to him, gazing up in awe at the beauty above her.

"It never gets old, this view." she said. "Hundreds of years for me but its beauty never fades. Do they still seem cold and distant to you, Kili?" She slipped her hand into his.

"No." he replied. "It is as you said. They are precious and pure. Like you."

She turned to look at him. "They are memory." she said, as she had the first time. "Memory." she repeated. "Now I have a memory of the stars and you." She smiled.

"So have I." he said, then leaned in and kissed her softly. Her arms went around him and her hands were in his hair. His hands tightened around her waist. It never even crossed his mind how easily he could have reached for one of her knives. It crossed hers, briefly, but as he pulled away to gasp for air she knew she had nothing to fear from him. At least not as far as bodily harm. Her heart was his to break now though.

He kissed her again then put his head on her shoulder and his arm around her waist. "Tell me about your stars, Tauriel."

" I have nothing to tell, Kili. They are memories, all the more so now that I have shared their light with you." She rested her head on his. "We cannot stay much longer, I'm afraid." she said finally. "Kili please know that I would set you free if I could."

"I know that Tauriel. I wish we were free and you would come with us to the mountain."

"I could not go, even if you were free. My loyalty is here to this Kingdom. But should you reach your mountain you will be up among the stars! Think of me when you see them from the mountain." she replied.

"I will think of you whenever I see stars, not just from the mountain. Tonight I held a star in my arms and I shall never forget it." Kili said.

She smiled and ran a finger over his beard then leaned down to kiss him. She finally pulled away, both of them breathing hard. "We really must get you back, Kili."

They climbed down slowly, holding hands as they made their way across the garden to the door.

"I hate to bind you and blindfold you again Kili but I must." she said.

"Of course you must. You have taken more risks than necessary tonight, Tauriel. Please take no more." He held his arms up for the manacles. She looked at him for a moment and then he took her in his arms one last time.

He pulled away. "Come let's get this over with. If you don't bind my hands I'll never let you go." he said gruffly.

Blindfolded and manacled, she led him back to the cells. It was later than they had realized. No elves were in the kitchen or the halls. Lindon, on night duty, nodded at them as they arrived at the cells "All well Lindon?" Tauriel asked casually as they stopped.

"They were arguing a bit amongst themselves tonight Tauriel but they've been quiet for a while now," he replied. "Bit late for a garden tour isn't it?"

"Yes it got dark a bit quickly tonight. Winter comes." She smiled at the guard. "Thank you Lindon. I'll be back after I get this one back in his cell for the night." Tauriel said quietly.

She and Kili made their way to his cell. Tauriel took off his blindfold and manacles and let him back into his cell. She closed the door very slowly so it did not make any sound other than a slight click.

Kili stood with his hands on the bars and pressed his face between them, looking up at Tauriel. She knelt down on one knee, at eye level with him, her face close to his. "Goodnight, Kili." she whispered. "I am sorry for any trouble my actions have caused with your uncle and friends."

"Tauriel I would face the dragon single-handed rather than have missed this night with you." he breathed, catching hold of her hands.

"Let's hope you don't have to meet up with the dragon before I see you again," she smiled.

He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. "This star is more precious to me than all the treasure in the mountain."

"Goodnight Kili," she said again.

"Goodnight, my love," he whispered to himself, once she was out of hearing, and up the steps again.

The dwarves were all asleep but Bilbo watched from a dark corner of the cells. He hoped his plan would work for tomorrow night but this was a development he had not expected.

"What do you mean you've been skulking around all these days and never spoken up?" Thorin whispered angrily at Bilbo, who was pressed up against Thorin's cell door, making furious shushing motions.

"Confound you Thorin Oakenshield!" Bilbo whispered back harshly. "It's taken me days to figure out where they were holding you and days to figure out a plan." Bilbo continued. "I couldn't risk getting caught down here trying to talk to you."

"What do you suggest we do now, Mr. Baggins?" Thorin asked coldly.

"There is another feast this coming night. Sounds like it will be even bigger than tonight. I will try to get the cell keys and guide you to an exit while the Elves toast to the end of Autumn." Bilbo replied. "Do not tell the others, Thorin! I worry they will let some stray word or action alert the Elves to the plan."

Thorin stared at Bilbo searchingly. "I seem to have made a habit of judging you too harshly. Should you manage our escape we shall all again be greatly in your debt."

"Yes, well you seem to be unusually capable of getting yourselves into all sorts of trouble." Bilbo countered.

"I am at your service, Master Baggins." Thorin bowed. "I had come to the decision tonight to speak to the Elven King tomorrow—to agree to his demands so we could be free of this cursed place. I trust your plan will relieve me of that."

"Stay out of trouble and be alert," admonished Bilbo. "I will return when I can. Be ready Thorin." Bilbo looked around the cell block at the sleeping dwarves." Let's hope we can do this Thorin." he sighed. "I must go now. Be patient."

Bilbo slipped away into the dark, making sure he was out of Thorin's view before he put on his ring.

Kili was having difficulty going to sleep after his night with Tauriel. He was too awake and alert to think of sleep when all he could think about were her green eyes looking into his and the touch of her hands and lips on his face. It made him blush. He expected even his ears were turning red. He could not wait to see her again.

How could he get her to let him out again on his own? It would surely be too risky for her to try again. He stopped staring up at the stairs. Tauriel was long gone. He lay down on the shelf in his cell that doubled as a bed and relived the night in his mind, wishing he had spent less time berating her for the risks she took and more time just holding her. He could see her face as clearly as if she were next to him. He traced her cheekbones in his mind. Next time. Next time he would learn more of her. He wanted to hear her voice again. He wanted to feel her hand on his cheek again, her fingers in his hair.

He lay in this half awake, half dreamlike state as he built a future for them in his thoughts. He was so entranced with his visions of them fighting side by side, bows drawn and knives at ready that he did not hear Bilbo approach Thorin's cell. Slowly he drifted out of his dreamlike state as he heard a familiar voice whispering in the dark. Bilbo! He went to rise up and see where the hobbit was but then he heard Bilbo shushing Thorin and stopped. He strained to hear and caught a few bits of Thorin and Bilbo's whispered confidence.

Thorin had been ready to treat with the Elven King! Tauriel had been right. It seemed the dwarves had been restless after their brief taste of the outside world and had persuaded Thorin to strike a deal.

But now Bilbo was poised to get them out without Thorin having to stoop to that. Kili could hear in Thorin's voice how he longed to be spared another audience with King Thranduil.

Kili felt a wave of excitement at the thought of finally embarking on the final leg of their quest, but along with that feeling came the punch of realization that he would likely never see Tauriel again if they successfully escaped. He closed his eyes at the wave of dizziness that came with that thought. What a fool he was. What had he been thinking? Thorin would despise the feelings he had for Tauriel and he could not see his uncle being civil to her. He felt this would be one issue that Thorin and the Elven King could agree on quite completely.

His excitement was replaced with darker thoughts. He knew where his duty lay. It would be hard. He felt like he would be leaving a part of himself in the Woodland Realm. He knew his wish to be with Tauriel was a dream. He closed his eyes and tried to push the images away. "Memory." He said to himself. "Precious and pure. I will see her face when I look at the stars."

He turned to the wall, willing himself not to hear more of Bilbo and Thorin speaking. He could not let her see the sadness on his face when she saw him tomorrow. If she saw him tomorrow. No, that was just too painful a thought to bear. He pulled out his runestone and rubbed it between his fingers. There would be no sleep for him tonight.


	9. Chapter 9

Tauriel walked through the now-silent halls to her room and quietly shut the door behind her. She leaned back against it. How had she dared to take Kili out on her own tonight? It had been a foolish thing to do but. . .

Her face grew warm at the thought of the last few hours. She wasn't sure what she had expected to happen tonight but she couldn't have imagined a more pleasant result.

Tauriel crossed the room to her bed and sat down. What was so fascinating about this dwarf? This dwarf. She had been kissing this dwarf—no Kili she corrected herself—and blushed again.

Enough. It was late. She slipped out of her guard uniform into her sleeping shirt and climbed into bed. What was she going to do tomorrow? Would she be able to take the next set of dwarves out and speak to Kili without betraying her growing feelings for him? Would he be able to?

She closed her eyes. No. That wouldn't do at all. His companions, or even her fellow guards, would certainly notice something. He already lit up whenever he saw her and that was before tonight's events. If she was blushing while she was alone in her room. . . it certainly wouldn't do to have that happen in the cells.

No. She would volunteer for perimeter patrol tomorrow and do her best to stay away from the prisoners. Except perhaps for a quick night round before the Autumn Feast. Maybe.

In the morning Tauriel checked in with Anborn, who was guarding the prison cells.

"Anborn, I'm going out on patrol today. I'll send guards to take the prisoners out but I likely won't be able to check in on them until tonight."

"They certainly seem to enjoy the trips out, Tauriel." Anborn replied. "They have quieted down the last few days, although Lindon said they were a bit feisty last night." He gave her a thoughtful look. "I heard you had a late outing with one last night, Tauriel?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied steadily, hoping she wouldn't blush again. Thankfully her face did not betray her. "I had no appetite to attend the feast after dealing with a grumpy dwarf." She laughed.

Anborn smiled. "No doubt they were all grumpy, hearing the feast above them. " He shook his head and grinned at her. "But it sounds like they are someone else's problem today and not yours!"

Tauriel left Anborn and made her way to the main gate for the morning guard muster. She found Hadon and Daeron among the gathered guards. "I'll take your patrol today, Daeron," she said, lightly touching Daeron on the shoulder. "I would like another look around the perimeter. The spiders are unusually quiet."

"I'll not complain about that, Tauriel." Daeron replied pleasantly.

She raised one eyebrow at him. "That's good to hear. Because I need you to be in charge of the dwarf outings today since I won't be here."

"What?" Daeron exclaimed, as Hadon burst into laughter next to him.

"Tauriel, I'd rather patrol than do that!" Daeron protested.

Legolas had looked over at them when Hadon laughed and he swiftly moved to stand beside Hadon. "What's so funny, Hadon?" he asked, his eyes scanning the three elves in front of him.

"I just asked Daeron to switch with me today. " Tauriel told Legolas. "I wanted to patrol again but someone must see to the dwarves." She gave Legolas a sidelong look. "Unless you would prefer to do the garden tours today, mellon?"

As she expected Legolas grimaced. "Certainly not." he said.

Hadon laughed again as Daeron sighed.

"Well maybe you can join me on patrol, Legolas. And Hadon can join Daeron in the garden." Tauriel's eyes sparkled as she looked at Legolas.

It was Daeron's turn to laugh. "She's got you now, Hadon." he said.

"I'll certainly not pass on a patrol." Legolas replied, clapping Hadon on the back. "I'll leave the dwarven garden tours in your capable hands, Hadon. Seems our Tauriel has finally tired of their company." He smiled down at Tauriel.

Tauriel didn't trust herself to reply so she simply shrugged her shoulders.

Daeron bumped Hadon's shoulder. "Let's get on with it then, Hadon. The sooner we get these outings done the better chance we might have to get some time on the archery range today." He bumped Hadon again. "Can't hurt for you to get some practice in."

Hadon bumped him back. "Oh right. Go ahead and use me as an excuse to find time to shore up your deficiencies."

Tauriel shook her head at her guards and then leaned forward to squeeze each of their shoulders. "Thank you both."

Daeron and Hadon nodded at her and moved to the hallway to head down to the cells, leaving Tauriel with Legolas.

"Can I hope this means your fascination with these prisoners is fading, Tauriel?" Legolas asked quietly.

"It's not a 'fascination' Legolas." Tauriel said crisply. "Just a chance to learn about those who may be in our company for awhile."

Legolas looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Come, mellon," she said. "Enough chatter. Let's get this patrol out." She tilted her head toward the guards at the gate.

"As you wish." Legolas responded. She turned away from him to join the other guards. He shrugged, shook his head and followed.

Kili moved rapidly to the door of his cell when he heard voices at the top of the stairs. His hopeful look faded as he did not hear Tauriel's voice. The two tall male guards spoke to each other quietly in their own language as they moved towards Bombur's cell. It seemed Tauriel wasn't going to be a part of the outings today. He gave a small sigh and began to pace in his cell.

What if she didn't come today? If Bilbo's words to Thorin were to be believed the dwarves were likely to make their escape attempt tonight. Kili's heart sped up at the thought. How did Bilbo think he would get them out of here? The twists and turns were impossible to keep track of, even for experienced dwarves like Balin.

Once the guards had left with Bombur, Balin's voice broke into the relative quiet of the cells. "Thorin. Will you speak to the guards when they return and request an audience with Thranduil?" he asked.

"Aye, Thorin, we've been here long enough. "Dwalin added. "Promise him whatever he wants and let's get on the bloody road. I've had enough of this place."

Thorin paced in his cell silently. "Thorin. " Balin said again. "Tis time, lad. Let the past go and let's get to that mountain."

"I will not. " Thorin stated.

"But lad!" Balin exclaimed, as Dwalin growled wordlessly. "Didn't we discuss this last night? It is our only remaining option!" He paused and then attempted a more patient tone. "Thranduil has no pressure on him to let us go. He has food and drink and Elves to guard us until we die of old age in these cells." He could not control the growing frustration in his voice anymore and his voice rose with his next words. "See reason, Thorin and let us leave here!"

"I need no counsel, Balin." Thorin thundered. "I will not bandy words with this Woodland sprite any longer." Thorin glared at his companions through the bars of his cell.

Kili stopped pacing and rested his forehead against the cool stone wall of his cell. It seemed Thorin had great confidence that Bilbo would get them out. He wished he had never overheard that conversation.

"All right down there?" called a voice from the steps. Anborn had heard Thorin and was making his way down the steps to the cells, a scowl on his face. He reached the bottom and surveyed the dwarves in their cells coldly.

"Tis nothing but frustration, lad. " Balin said to Anborn heavily. "We've been here too long."

Anborn scanned the cells again swiftly, his eyes coming to rest on Thorin last. He nodded, the scowl leaving his face. "It is hard to be away from the sun and the stars," he said to him kindly. He returned to the stairs and began to climb. "Perhaps it will be your turn to have an outing today, Master dwarf, " he added, with another look back at Thorin.

Balin sighed and sat down on the stone bench in his cell. He wasn't going to make any progress with Thorin today. What had gotten into him? He had all but agreed to speak to Thranduil when they had discussed it last night.

Dwalin gave another wordless growl and slammed his hand against the bars of his cell, then like his brother, he sat down on the bench in his cell.

Silence took over the dugeons. Daeron and Hadon's return to take Dwalin and Thorin out later that morning did nothing to change that.


	10. Chapter 10

The late afternoon sun warmed Tauriel's shoulders as she and Legolas returned to the main gate with their patrol. Again today they had found nothing amiss. They had actually led the patrol deeper into the woods than usual. The lack of spider activity was making Tauriel uneasy.

"I will speak to the King about expanding our patrols to the South, Tauriel." Legolas said to her as they walked in to the palace, echoing the thought she was about to voice to him.

"Will he listen?" she asked as they walked deeper into the palace.

"He is on edge with these dwarves here, Tauriel. But I think it is time for me to bring it up again." Legolas frowned. "But likely not tonight. I'll give him patrol report before the feast but I'd rather talk to him about mounting deep forest patrols in the morning, before he meets with the council." He looked over at Tauriel. "Do you want to join me for report?"

Tauriel shook her head. "With the way he has been acting lately when we come to him together, I'd say not. I should probably do my prison rounds," she added casually.

Legolas narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you going to miss this feast as well, Tauriel?"

"No, Legolas. I will not miss the feast tonight," she replied.

"Make sure you are there." His tone was very serious. "I have missed you there and believe me I am not the only one who notes your absence."

She squared her shoulders. "I take your point, Legolas. I will be there."

"Good." He said. Then he narrowed his eyes at her again. "Perhaps I will accompany you on your prison rounds tonight—to make sure our 'guests' don't detain you overlong."

Tauriel felt her cheeks grow warm. "I don't need a minder, Legolas!" she snapped.

He leaned down over her and smiled. "Oh I don't mind at all, Tauriel." He turned her around with his arm and took off towards the dungeons, propelling her along with him. "I don't mind at all. " he repeated.

They made their way to the cells, Tauriel protesting that he needed to be making his report to Thranduil and not wasting his time in the dungeon.

"I'll give him report after the rounds." Legolas retorted. "Then I can report on the prisoners as well."

This was a bad idea, Tauriel said to herself. She should never have mentioned going to the cells. The events of last night really were too recent for her to risk a public conversation with Kili.

She would just have to avoid his cell. It was the only way. He would be bewildered likely at her avoidance but that couldn't be helped. Legolas was far too observant to risk it. Surely Kili would realize that when he saw Legolas with her.

They had reached the entrance. "Duindir, how fare the prisoners?" Tauriel asked the guard, as Legolas came to stand next to her.

"As usual, Tauriel. " Duindir replied, then grinned at her. "I think Hadon and Daeron would have much preferred searching out spiders than being here today."

"No doubt." Legolas laughed. "I feel the same way. Didn't enjoy their garden tours much then?" he asked.

Duindir shook his head, his eyes shining with held-in laughter. "Tauriel didn't tell them she had left the fierce ones for today!"

Legolas gave Tauriel a wide eyed look. "You didn't tell me that was why you were so eager to go on patrol today! And here I thought spiders and my company were the attraction. Did you really leave Thorin Oakenshield and his bald friend for them?"

Tauriel blinked at Legolas and Duinidir who were sporting identical wide grins on their faces. "I'd actually lost track of who was to go today."

Legolas dissolved into laughter. "I doubt they will believe that! They will certainly be looking for you at the feast tonight."

"I'm tempted to hide in my room," Tauriel retorted.

"Not tonight, Tauriel. Not tonight." He leaned closer to her and whispered "Leave Daeron and Hadon to me."

She looked up in to his deep blue eyes, shining with amusement and smiled back at him. This was her Legolas—merry and ready to get into mischief. She knocked her shoulder into his playfully and said "I look forward to that, mellon-nin."

Duindir shook his head at them. "I'm on duty so I will miss all the fun. Now are you two planning to go down to the cells or are you just here to distract me from my duties?"

"Pardons, Duindir," Legolas said, instantly serious. "Tauriel feels compelled to make nightly rounds, so down we go." He nodded at Duindir and motioned for Tauriel to follow him down the steps.

Kili heard the voices at the top of the steps. Perhaps Tauriel had finally come. She hadn't been to the cells at all today. The two guards who had come today had been almost as dour as Dwalin and Thorin, whose turn it had been for a trip out. Kili had almost laughed at the identical expressions on the faces of the guards and their prisoners.

He moved to the bars of his cell and looked up at the steps expectantly, a smile on his face. It faded quickly as he caught sight of the fair haired Elven prince coming down the steps. Kili retreated into his cell and sat down.

Tauriel waited until Legolas was near the bottom of the steps before she followed him. She had caught a glimpse of Kili's face when he spotted Legolas and was glad he had stepped back into the shadows of his cell. It would be easier for her this way.

Legolas moved from cell to cell, piercing each cavern with a quick glare before moving on. Tauriel followed, not venturing to greet the dwarves as familiarly as she usually did but simply nodding to them silently as she swept by. Legolas had reached the steps again when she passed by Bofur's cell.

To Tauriel's dismay he called out to her. "Good evening, lass!" Legolas turned to look at her just as Kili bounded to his cell door, obviously drawn there by Bofur's greeting. She met Legolas' gaze, which appeared amused.

She turned to smile at Bofur. "Good evening. All well?" she asked him pleasantly, doing her best to ignore Kili's face pressed to the bars in the next cell.

"All well," Bofur replied. "I'm looking forward to another of your trips out, if I may be so bold." He winked.

"I'll see what I can do, Master Dwarf." Tauriel said politely.

"I'm thinking it's my turn before you," Balin called out to Bofur from his cell.

"I'd like to see the mountain again," Ori added.

"I wouldn't mind another look at that herb garden, " Oin interjected. "I've got questions about those medicinal plants, lass."

Tauriel looked around the cells in surprise then returned her eyes to Legolas.

He was leaning against the wall of the staircase, arms crossed over his chest, eyebrow raised up in an unconscious imitation of his father. His lips quirked as he returned her gaze.

Valar above! He was about to burst out laughing at her by the look of him. Glaring at Legolas, she moved up to go past the next cell, momentarily forgetting Kili waiting there, so eager was she to wipe that smirk off her friend's face.

"Good evening, Tauriel." Kili's voice broke in. She came to a sudden stop and glanced at him. Oh by the stars! Kili was beaming at her, his face almost pressed through the gaps in the bars on his cell door.

She narrowed her eyes at him and very slightly shook her head "no" at him. He kept grinning. She'd been right to worry about this happening. "All well, Master Dwarf?" she asked curtly.

His smile faded a bit. "All well now that you are here, my lady," he said softly, a puzzled look growing in his eyes. She nodded once and continued up to the steps, not daring to look at him or at Legolas up ahead. She reached the step Legolas was standing on. She was forced to stop and look up at him.

He had not moved, still leaning against the wall, arms crossed, eyebrow raised but no smile on his lips now. He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the right. She had never seen him look more like Thranduil than in that moment.

"Are you going to stand there all night, Legolas?" she asked sharply. "I thought we had a feast to attend?" She held his gaze.

"Far be it from me to make us late for the revels, my lady," he said, emphasizing his use of the same title Kili had bestowed upon her just now. He turned and swiftly went up the steps. Tauriel followed behind.

They passed by Duindor silently. They walked in silence until they reached the corridor where Tauriel would go left to her quarters and Legolas would go right, to the royal apartments, to find Thranduil.

"Tauriel. " Legolas stopped and turned towards her. There was no laughter in his face now. There was a melancholy look in his eyes, their usual brightness dampened. "I had thought to tease you about your dwarven admirers but it seems to be more than simple admiration, at least for one of them," he continued.

"I told your father a little kindness might go a long way," she answered.

"I think you were correct," he agreed, with a tiny smile that never touched his eyes.

"Then my idea worked better than expected," she said.

"It certainly seems to have had some unexpected effects," Legolas responded, "especially on that young one."

"Legolas," she began but he he held his hand up to stop her.

"Enough, Tauriel. I saw the way he looked at you just now. I saw his face when he saw me on the steps and then when he realized you were there also." She started to speak again but he cut her off with a gesture of his hand again. "Tauriel, let me say what I need to say!" he said sharply. She nodded and held her words.

" I saw your face, mellon-nin," he said in a much softer, gentle voice. "I saw you shake your head at him. I saw your words and tone drive the light out of his eyes." Legolas reached across and put his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it lightly. Such a familiar gesture. How many times had he done that very thing? She reached up and placed her hand over his, echoing a motion she had done countless times herself. "I do not understand what is going on between you but I know it is more than simply caring for our prisoners. " His face took on a concerned expression. "No dirweg, Tauriel. These are Naugrim. We know so little of them and I would not have you hurt by them." His hand slipped off her shoulder.

Tauriel took his hands in hers. "Mellon-nin, I thank you for your concern." She continued in an attempt at a lighter tone. "But you know they are no match for me."

Legolas frowned down at her. "You know very well that is not what I meant, pe-channas!"

"I know what you meant. " Tauriel paused. "I don't know what to call this Legolas. Is it the start of a friendship? Something more? I do not know."

"Just be careful, Tauriel. I do not want to see you hurt," he repeated. He wrinkled his nose and huffed at her. "You really do pick the oddest friends."

Tauriel laughed and impulsively wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He hugged her back tightly. Legolas then leaned down to press his forehead to hers in that deepest gesture of Elven friendship. "You are my friend, no matter what, " he whispered, his blue eyes filling her vision.

"As you are mine, " she answered.

He stepped back and looked at her questioningly. "Now are we going to this feast?"

"I must change, " she said, making a face as she looked at her dusty patrol tunic.

"As must I." he responded "And I must give report to my father," he added. "I will return to fetch you."

"I will be here." Tauriel said.

"Promise?" he asked. "No avoiding the feast tonight."

"I promise. Now go clean up! You smell like an orc!" she laughed.

"I most certainly do not!" he said crisply. He most certainly did not, she had to agree. Legolas looked perfectly capable of attending the feast in his patrol clothes. Not one hair out of place, not one stain or speck of dust on his tunic. How did he manage that, she asked herself for the thousandth time.

"Well I do! Now go, so we don't end up being late and have to endure a lecture from the King." Tauriel said, giving him a little shove.

"Ai Valar! That's the last thing I need tonight," he responded, a look of mild alarm on his face. "I'll be back for you after I give him report,' he added as he moved down the hallway towards the royal apartments.

Tauriel headed in the opposite direction to her rooms. All in all that had gone better than it could have. The look on Kili's face and the one on Legolas' face had pained her more than she let on though. She should go to the cells tomorrow she thought. Without an audience.

Sounds of merriment intermittently drifted down into the cells. Kili paced in his cell, his runestone in his hand. She was up there somewhere. With that cold prince of hers most likely.

He certainly hadn't expected her to be intimate in public but he had been surprised at the coldness of her voice. She had never been that distant, not since that first meeting in the forest.

He scowled. She was probably regretting her foolish escapade with him last night. But it was anything but an escapade to him. If Bilbo did get them out tonight then he had just had his last glimpse of her. He far preferred his memories from the night before to the ones from today.

"What is it with you tonight, Kili?" Fili called out from across the cells. "You've worn a furrow in the stone, pacing like that."

"You're near as bad as Thorin, lad." Balin laughed, eliciting an indignant growl from Thorin, who was in fact pacing in his cell as ferociously as Kili.

"Didn't get enough time to moon over his she-elf today I'll wager, " Dwalin rumbled.

Kili glared at him but that only made Dwalin roar with laughter. "You're no match for that pretty prince of hers, Kili." Kili paced even more furiously at that.

Fili watched his brother thoughtfully. Dwalin had likely hit the mark as far as the source of his brother's agitation. "The sooner we get out of here the better," he mumbled to himself.

Balin looked from Kili to Thorin, pacing like caged animals. He sighed. If he'd had his way they would have been on the road days ago, well provisioned, and heading for the Lonely Mountain. If this captivity lasted any longer they would all be as agitated as the sons of Durin. Why was Thorin being so stubborn? Balin missed Gandalf 's presence acutely. In the past Thorin had heeded his advice but lately it seemed only the wizard had been able to talk sense into him.

Kili sat down. The pacing hadn't made him feel any better. If anything it had heightened his frustration. He couldn't seem to rid himself of the mental image of Tauriel addressing him as "dwarf." Tauriel glaring at him and shaking her head at him. Sweeping by him to join that smirking prince.

He replayed that image of Tauriel glaring at him again and again. Glaring at him and shaking her head. Glaring at him and . . .

And suddenly he understood. She hadn't been cold on purpose. She was being watched by that icy prince, with those cold, blue eyes of his that missed nothing.

By Durin's beard, he was an idiot! She had been trying to warn him. She didn't want the prince to suspect anything and now he'd gone and gotten her in trouble with his pathetic display of petulance. He'd warned her about taking unnecessary risks, chastised her even, and then he had put her at risk himself. Being so bold about his feelings for her and then pouting when she didn't respond in kind, in front of her commanding officer no less.

He ran his fingers through his hair and then buried his face in his hands. Thorin had called him a besotted fool and it appeared to be an accurate assessment he decided.

Tauriel laughed as Daeron imitated Thorin's scowl and Hadon imitated Dwalin's grumbling. She and Legolas had joined them after the feast. They had shared more than a few glasses of the fine bottle of Dorwinion wine Legolas had 'borrowed' from the King's table and now were regaling Legolas and Tauriel with a humorous recap of their day, complete with impersonations of their charges.

Even Legolas was joining in the laughter, his eyes sparkling at her over his wine glass. She shook her head at the two guards. "I must thank you for taking the duty today. You don't know how much I dreaded taking those two out!"

"Seems to me you might owe us another patrol." Daeron laughed, filling their wine glasses again.

Tauriel made her way to the main gate. Somehow she had agreed to take Hadon's early patrol today. She should never have agreed to such an early shift. Not after the feast last night.

Legolas caught her eye as she reached the rest of the guard and she went to stand near him. "Good thing I'm used to drinking Ada's best wine with him," he said to Tauriel. "I think Daeron and Hadon might have a rough day."

"Good thing I agreed to take Hadon's patrol then," she replied.

"Good thing you've had your share of Dorwinion with Ada and me," he countered. "You look no worse for indulging last night." Legolas said.

Tauriel was about to reply when she caught sight of Feren racing down the corridor towards them. "Tauriel," he shouted. "The prisoners! They've escaped out the barrel drop. You must come!"

Tauriel ran down the corridor towards the cellars, Legolas barking orders to the assembled guard before turning to follow her. She reached the barrel drop room to find it empty. Legolas pushed through the small door leading to the stone ledge outside, shouting over his shoulder at Feren "Shut the gate!"

Feren grabbed the horn and blew a blast on it. The Elven guard raced along the river banks, following the dwarves floating down the river in their barrels.

No dirweg: be watchful

Pe-channas: idiot


	11. Chapter 11

The water covered Kili's head again and he came up spluttering as his barrel righted itself. The rushing water propelled him along the river as he bobbed and wobbled in his barrel.

A horn sounded from behind and he scrambled, tilting wildly, to turn around. Elves were appearing on the river banks behind him, in pursuit. The river narrowed and his barrel went around a bend. Looking ahead he could now see a gate, manned by Elven guards. As Kili watched them one ran to pull on a lever on the gate.

The river gate crashed shut just as Thorin's barrel reached it. The dwarves all bumped in to each other in their barrels, forming a bottleneck in front of the gate. Kili looked up at the guards advancing down the steps at them when suddenly he saw an arrow fly into the chest of the elf on the far right side of the gate. Harsh voices rose around them and suddenly orcs overwhelmed the Elven guards.

The gate lever was abandoned. He saw it and in that second, as the orcs began to surge towards them, he made his decision. Propelling himself out of his barrel, he leapt onto the gate wall and ran towards the lever.

He dodged the first orc and then grabbed a weapon thrown to him by Dwalin, scavenged from one of the now-dead orcs in the water. He killed the next one to attack him, dropped his weapon and reached both hands out to the lever.

He had almost gripped it when an arrow hit his right thigh, causing him to miss his hold and he fell onto his back. His leg burned. It felt like the arrow had gone all the way to the bone. He caught sight of an orc climbing over the gate above him and he knew he was going to have to fight for his life, here on the gate, with no ready weapon at hand.

Before he could push himself up in an effort to ward off the orc an arrow flew to the orc's throat and the orc fell dead. Kili whipped his head around and saw Tauriel, her bow in her hand, moving quickly on the riverbank. Another orc approaching him fell with her arrow in his chest as he stared at Tauriel, seeing her spinning around to shoot again, then knifing another orc.

Tauriel! She had saved him again. He gritted his teeth and pulled himself up—she had given him the chance he needed. He grabbed the lever and pulled it down. His leg blazed with pain, as it buckled under him and he fell onto the ledge once more. He caught sight of Tauriel as he lay there—her red hair let him track her among the orc pack.

He heard Fili call his name. He had to focus. He had to get off this ledge—he could see his companions passing by below, now that the gate was open. Kili rolled off into the empty barrel Fili held for him. The arrow shaft snapped on the barrel edge. Pain from his leg made him cry out as his barrel spun towards the gate. His vision briefly went black as the pain took over.

He did not see Tauriel turn at the sound of his voice. He did not see it distract her and allow an orc to almost knock her down. The river swept him away.

Tauriel spun the orc into the water and regained her balance. What was wrong with her? How could she have lost her concentration and allowed an orc to get so close? She narrowed her eyes and efficiently dispatched the two orcs nearest her. She would think about Kili later. These orcs were swarming all around her. Legolas and the rest of the Elven guard were outnumbered.

The big orc leader suddenly shouted out and the orcs abandoned the Elves and changed course, charging down the river after the escaping dwarves. "Tauriel!" Legolas shouted as he ran past her. "We must follow them! Come!" He leapt over the gate. She ran after him, following him onto the riverbank beyond the gate.

Legolas, Tauriel and the rest of the Elven guard sped down both sides of the river in pursuit. Tauriel could see the Dwarves bobbing in and out of the cascading rapids, the orcs continuing their attacks from the riverbanks as they floated by them.

Legolas was racing too far ahead of her now. She watched him leap into the river, using the dwarves and their barrels as stepping-stones. There were too many orcs. Tauriel could see how outnumbered their Elven guard was. She picked up speed, trying to reach Legolas to fight by his side but he was too far from her.

Legolas was now back on the river bank, cutting down orcs; so engaged in fighting them off that Tauriel was sure he didn't see the one coming behind him. There was no way she was going to get close enough to shoot him in time.

An axe came flying out of the river and hit the orc in the chest. One of the dwarves—Thorin she thought—had thrown it just in time. She watched the dwarves in their barrels disappear around the next curve in the river, the orcs in continued pursuit. She rapidly made her way towards Legolas. Spotting an orc taking aim to shoot him, Tauriel drew her bow and shot his arrow down before it hit Legolas. She advanced on the orc with knives drawn, knocking him down and placing her knife at his throat.

"Wait!" Legolas commanded. "This one we take back." Tauriel turned to him in surprise. He shook his head at her and took one last look at the river with the orc pack disappearing after the dwarves. "We take him to my father."

Tauriel and Legolas walked in silence to find Thranduil, the captured orc between them. She still could not believe the events of this morning. The dwarves had escaped, she knew not how. An orc pack of such size had never ventured this far into the Woodland Realm in all her years here, not even the raiding party that had killed her family.


	12. Chapter 12

Over 600 years earlier:

 

The small settlement in the Southern Greenwood, beyond the Forest Mountains, was a place where many medicinal plants happened to grow. The few Elves living there cultivated and harvested them, as they grew better in the wild, among the trees and other plants of the forest. The settlers were dwindling now though. Tauriel had heard her parents talk about the change that had come over the forest.

It had started with the black squirrels. Tauriel had seen one. Unlike the red squirrels, who were curious and friendly, this one had not wanted to take an acorn from her hand and eyed her suspiciously. The black squirrel made her uncomfortable.

The spiderwebs came next. Her parents warned her not to venture beyond the beech trees near their talan. Naneth said the webs were sticky and would ruin her clothes but Tauriel had seen the look Naneth had exchanged with Ada. It made Tauriel think her clothes weren't their only concern.

Over the last few weeks their small settlement had grown even smaller as families left the talans one by one. Heading north for the winter one family said. To visit Daernaneth said her friend Rinel. Soon it was just a few families and Tauriel's Ada had said that they were going to leave as well.

Naneth thought her healing skills might be put to more use closer to the northern settlements, maybe even for the King's warriors. Ada had been a warrior before they moved south and late in the night Tauriel heard him tell Naneth it was time he became one again.

Today was the day they were really leaving. Naneth had packed their shoulder bags in the early morning and she was busy organizing food into their waist packs now.

"Tauriel, put your packs on. Ada is waiting, " her mother said to her. Tauriel secured the waist pack and backpack, then put her small knife into the belt of her pack and tucked an even smaller one into her boot. Ready now, she climbed down to her father.

"You have your things then?" he asked her with a gentle smile. Tauriel nodded but then caught her breath.

"Ada!" she exclaimed. "My forest gifts!" Forest gifts were what her father called her little collection of stones, leaves, feathers, and other objects she had found in the forest. Naneth didn't like them cluttering up the talan so Tauriel kept them in the hollow of the old oak tree nearby. It had been struck by lightning years ago but had a hollow area big enough for her to sit in. It was a good place to be alone and a good place for her forest treasures. Once in awhile a little red squirrel visited the hollow but no animal had made its home there. It was Tauriel's place.

He father looked around swiftly, then up to the talan. "Go quickly, Tauriel," he said quietly. "Naneth is almost ready so you be quick and choose wisely—you can't bring them all," he said with a wink at her.

Tauriel darted to the old oak and crawled inside. Her 'gifts' were on a little ledge deep in the hollow. She went to the ledge and looked at them fondly. She immediately picked up her purple-gray stone and put it in her tunic pocket. What next? The feathers were too big and delicate. So many pretty stones. She could not take the perfect leaves she had collected—they would crumble in her pack or pocket.

The arrowhead! She couldn't leave that behind. Ada himself had said it was old—older than he was! Tauriel picked it up and began to stow it in her pack.

A sense of unease suddenly gripped her. Where was the birdsong? The forest, usually alive with sound, had gone completely still. Tauriel placed her hand on the trunk of the tree then snatched it away quickly. The tree was vibrating.

She heard the rhythmic thumping of feet then, followed by guttural voices calling in a language she did not know. She sank down into the dirt floor of the hollow. She heard Ada's voice loud and commanding. "Tauriel! Stay in the tree! Do not come out! Stay silent and do not. . . ." but then it cut off suddenly and Tauriel froze.

She heard Naneth calling Ada's name. She heard an arrow hit her tree. She heard those voices that made her ears hurt shouting around her. She covered her ears with her hands and wept silently.

It felt like hours listening to the cries, the voices, the thumping feet, the crashes of axes biting into trees. Then suddenly it was silent again. She uncovered her ears and put her hand on the trunk again. Stillness.

The light faded from the entrance of the hollow but Tauriel was afraid to move. She could hear the wind and the night sounds of the forest now. She drew her knees up and hugged them, put her head down and began to cry again.

No one came to look for her. Ada knew where she was. If Ada had not come it meant Ada couldn't come. It meant Ada was dead. She knew now that those were orcs she had heard. If Ada was dead it meant Naneth was too. The silence from the settlement around her meant she was all that was left.

Morning came. She could hear the birds calling outside the tree. She thought about coming out but she shivered and curled on herself again. She couldn't. She couldn't see it. If she saw it then it was real. She rested her head on her knees, closed her eyes and focused on listening to the birdsong.

"No dirweg." A voice interrupted the birdsong and she caught her breath and looked up. It had come from beyond her tree. It was Sindarin but she did not recognize the voice.

"Amarth faeg," said another voice, this one just outside her hiding place. Tauriel stood, debating if she should leave the tree or try to see who was out there first. She scanned the inside of the tree hollow but there were no other cracks or openings to peek through. She pulled the knife from her belt and slowly moved to the opening and peeked around the edge.

It was a patrol! She had seen the King's patrols come through before, had seen Ada talking and laughing with the forest guards. She could see four dark haired elves moving from tree to tree. A golden haired elf stood a few yards from her, his back to her tree.

Surely it was safe to come out now. If she didn't come out what would happen to her if the patrol left? When would another come? Tauriel inched her way to the opening of the tree as silently as she could. Not silently enough. The golden haired elf whirled around, knives in both his hands as she stepped fully into the opening.

She screamed and stumbled back into the tree, curling in to the trunk in the hollow.

"Stop, Laindir! It is a child, " said a voice just outside her tree. "I have this."

"Forgive me," said the voice softly "I did not mean to frighten you, child." Tauriel stared as an elf squatted at the entrance to her tree, his golden hair haloed by the sun behind him. "Do not be afraid, " he continued in the same soft, gentle voice. "I am here to help you."

He reached out a hand to her. She stared at him wordlessly. He tilted his head as he looked at her, then crawled into the tree hollow to kneel next to her. "Come, little one. We must get you away from here." He gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Tauriel dropped her face into her hands and began to cry.

The strange elf gathered her into his arms and held her close, stroking her hair lightly. "I am sorry, child." She leaned into his chest now as she cried. "We must go," he whispered into her hair. "We cannot be here at nightfall, little one." He placed his hands on her shoulders and rested his forehead on hers. "You must be strong. Be strong for me and come."

Tauriel looked up into his blue eyes and nodded. She wiped her face with her hands then crawled out of the tree after him, picking up her dropped knife and placing it back in her belt. He was waiting ouside the tree. He placed his hand on her shoulder as she came out of the hollow, then squeezed her shoulder gently.

Elves were moving all around the settlement. Tauriel looked toward the tree that held her family talan. The golden haired elf squatted down again so that he was eye to eye with her. "My name is Legolas, little one." He held her in his gaze. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Tauriel, " she whispered.

"Tauriel," he repeated. "I am going to need to take you to the palace, child. There is nothing here for you anymore."

"Ada and Naneth?" she asked very quietly.

"They have gone to the Halls of Mandos, henig." He put his hands on both her shoulders now. "You have been very brave, Tauriel. I need you to be braver still. " She nodded, tears tracking down her cheeks once more. "I will leave part of my patrol here to perform the rites and to scout for these orcs." He paused and she was caught in his intense blue gaze again. "I need you to tell me what happened. Can you tell me?" he asked.

She nodded again. "Ada, Naneth and I were going to leave today. The forest had been getting quieter. Ada said the darkness was growing to the south." Legolas nodded at her and squeezed her shoulders gently again, encouraging her to continue. "I went to the hollow to get my forest gifts before we left." She paused and looked down.

"Forest gifts?" Legolas repeated curiously.

"That's what Ada called them. Things we found in the forest that were beautiful. He called them my forest gifts," she said, looking back at him.

He smiled. "Aye. I had forest gifts as an elfling too." His face grew more serious and his gaze intensified. "Then what happened, little one?"

"The Forest grew silent. And then. . .and then I heard them." She turned her head to look around the clearing.

He turned her head gently back to him. "Look at me, Tauriel. Do not look around you." His eyes captured hers again. "Go on."

"Ada called to me. He told me to stay. He said to stay in the tree. So I stayed. I stayed. But then. . ." She started to cry and found herself once again in the Elf's strong embrace, sobbing into his tunic.

"I know, little one, I know." He held her tightly for a moment, then stroked her hair again gently. He stood, keeping his arm around her shoulders and she clung to his tunic.

"Laindir!" he called. A dark haired elf moved swiftly over. "Split the patrol. I will stay here for the rites and to search out these orcs. I need you to take the child back to my father at the palace. There have been elves from the outer settlements arriving at the palace over the last few weeks. Perhaps some of her people may have found their way there."

"Yes, ernilen. It will be done. Come with me, child." Laindir touched Tauriel's shoulder gently.

"NO!" Tauriel cried, twisting her fingers into Legolas' tunic, pinching the skin beneath unknowingly. "I want to stay with you!" she wailed. "Don't leave me too!"

Legolas winced at both the pinching and the child's words.

He and Laindir exchanged a look over Tauriel's head. "I think it is perhaps best if I stay and you report back to the King about the attack," Laindir said smoothly, raising his eyebrows and pointedly looking at Tauriel.

Legolas grimaced at him, then looked down at Tauriel, burying her face in his tunic. "Aye," he nodded. "You have the command here. Do not linger too long. I will have Ada send a larger patrol to follow."

Laindir nodded, brought his hand to his heart, inclined his head and moved back to the other guards organizing the bodies of the dead.

"Don't leave me, don't leave me." Legolas could hear Tauriel murmuring into his tunic. He winced as she twisted the fabric even further and pinched him again.

He patted her on the back. "Do not worry, Tauriel. I will not leave you. You are coming home with me."

She looked up at him, green eyes still full of tears. "You won't leave me?" she asked.

"I won't leave you. I am taking you home to meet my Ada," he smiled down at her. "But we must hurry. Give me your hand, child."

Tauriel finally let go of his now rumpled and tear-stained tunic, then slipped her hand into his. He squeezed it once and pulled her toward the patrol that would accompany them back to Thranduil's halls.

 

No dirweg: be watchful

Amarth faeg: evil fate

henig: child


	13. Chapter 13

Tauriel stalked out of Thranduil's Great Hall, gripping her knife handle tightly as she put it back in its sheath on her belt. She was Captain of the Palace Guard! She had captured that orc. Thranduil had just dismissed her, told her to leave his presence as he interrogated the prisoner.

She shook her head. She wanted nothing more than to kill that orc. She had wanted to stop those cursed words coming from his mouth when he told them Kili had been poisoned and was likely dying as they spoke.

Her steps had taken her to the main gate now. She needed to get outside and out of these halls. She approached Anborn, who was on guard.

"Tauriel," he greeted her.

"Let me out, Anborn," she said.

"Is there news of the prisoners?" he asked.

She shook her head. "There is not. The orcs pursued them. I fear they are headed to Laketown by now."

It was his turn to shake his head. "I heard they went out in barrels. How is that possible?"

Tauriel sighed "I wish I knew. I wish I knew how they escaped and how an orc pack came to the very gates of our kingdom. I wish I knew what we are going to do now."

"Has the King said anything?" Anborn asked her.

"Not to me, " she answered sharply. "Now, please, Anborn. Let me out."

"You patrol alone, Tauriel?" he responded, concern in his voice. "I cannot let you do that. It is not safe."

"I will just look once more at the perimeter, Anborn. You know we have patrols out there even now. I will not stray far."

He nodded thoughtfully and opened the gate for her. She walked out, keeping a steady pace until she heard the gates shut behind her. She threw a quick look over her shoulder then darted off the main path to head toward the river.

There was nothing she could do here. Thranduil would interrogate the orc and then pull his people back even further. He would not pursue the prisoners-not to save them, not to recapture them, not to warn them of the poison that was likely killing Kili even now. Once more he would retreat from the world around them, she thought bitterly.

She may not be able to do anything here but she could follow the dwarves. Kili was poisoned. Could she reach him in time? Could she do something to at least help him? She clenched her jaw. She would follow the dwarves. She would find them somehow. She would not hide behind stone walls and wait for the world to fall into darkness. If she could save Kili from that darkness it would be enough.

She had reached the border beyond the river gate. She stood for a moment, staring at the river. If she crossed into the riverlands here she was beyond Thranduil's realm and outside the parameters of her duties. She stood poised to do just that when she heard a slight sound behind her.

"Tauriel." Legolas said as she turned her head. "You cannot hunt thirty orcs on your own."

"But I am not on my own," she smiled at him.

"You knew I would come!" Legolas said, his face lighting up as he came near her. Her smile faded, a catch in her breath at the joy and eagerness in his face and tone of voice. She must guard what she said. Despite his words to his father he did not seem to be regarding her as simply a friend.

His face grew serious again as he approached her. "The King is angry, Tauriel. For six hundred years my father has protected you, favored you. You defied his orders. You betrayed his trust." Legolas said.

"How have I done that, mellon?" Tauriel asked. "By chasing down his prisoners? By pursuing these orcs? How does that defy him, Legolas? Tell me how. I thought that was my duty."

"He told you to stand down with that orc, Tauriel. He has sealed the gates and the borders, yet you are beyond both," he answered.

"He cannot seal the gates to the Captain of the Palace Guard, Legolas." Tauriel countered.

"But he has, Tauriel. No one is to leave the palace." Legolas said.

"Then how are you here, Legolas?" Tauriel asked him. "I know nothing of such an order. Anborn knew nothing of this order when he let me out. Yet you seem to know of it. Which one of us has defied the King, mellon?"

Legolas stared at her. "I came for you, Tauriel," he said quietly. "When I heard you had left alone I came for you." His blue eyes met hers and she saw the hurt and vulnerability there. "I told you I would not hesitate to defy my father for you, Tauriel. I am here, against his direct orders, for you. Will you not come back with me?" There was a beseeching tone in his voice she had not heard before. "He will forgive you. Return with me."

"But I will not, " she said. "I will not forgive myself if I go back. The King has never let orc filth roam our lands at will like this, Legolas, yet he would let this orc pack cross our borders, come to the very palace gates, pursue our prisoners and kill them?" She ground out the words.

"It is not our fight." Legolas said.

"It is our fight," she snapped. "It will not end here. With every victory this evil will grow." She paused and narrowed her eyes at him. "If your father has his way we will do nothing. We will hide within our walls. . .living our lives away from the light. . .and let the darkness descend. Are we not part of this world?" She moved closer to Legolas now as she spoke. "Tell me, mellon. When did we let evil become stronger than us?" She stood next to him now, looking up at him as he gazed at the river ahead. He dropped his head as she spoke, his shoulders sinking.

"I do not know, Tauriel," he whispered. "We fight but the darkness still grows."

"And has withdrawing kept the evil away, mellon?" she asked softly, her hand on his arm now.

He let the air out of his lungs sharply. "It has not, " he said finally. "It has just allowed the evil to come closer," he admitted. He looked at her now, looking younger than she had seen him in years, confusion and sadness in his face. "I want to lift the darkness, Tauriel. I want to walk in the starlight as we once did."

"Then we cannot give up the fight, Legolas. We cannot keep pulling back, ignoring the spread of evil around us. These dwarves were our prisoners, under our protection. These orcs follow them to Laketown." She met his eyes intently. "How will the people of Laketown fend them off? Are the Lake-men not our allies, our friends?"

He nodded at her now, his gaze hardening. "They will not expect an orc attack in Laketown." He looked down the river again. "I would know what business these orcs have in our woods and with these dwarves." He turned to look at her again. "I know you worry about the archer and his poisoned wound, Tauriel." He cut off her attempt to speak. "It will be an evil end for him."

"I would do what I could to ease it." Tauriel whispered.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "This is greater than the life of one dwarf, as you yourself said, Tauriel." His eyes darkened as he continued. "That orc filth said a greater darkness comes, one we have not seen in ages." His gaze hardened. "I will not stand by and watch that happen. I cannot sit in the palace as the world goes dim around us and all hope is lost." He gripped her arm. "I will go to Laketown with you. It is our fight."


	14. Chapter 14

"Tauriel, we need more speed to reach Laketown in time," Legolas said as they moved towards the river banks and the flatter terrain at the top. "We will make better time if I have Siliviren," he said to her.

She gave him a puzzled look. "But we cannot go back to the stables to get her, Legolas. We will be seen."

"Who said anything about going back? Siliviren will come to me. She knows my call." He turned in the direction of the palace and whistled. He scanned the horizon ahead as they waited. Tauriel checked her bow then started sharpening her knives.

It was not long before the white horse belonging to Legolas reached them, brushing Legolas' shoulder as he stroked her neck. "Hannon-le, Siliviren." He leapt up on the mare, reaching a hand to Tauriel to help her settle behind him.

They followed the Running River to the Long Lake, reaching Laketown past nightfall. Legolas halted and slid off Siliviren as they reached the wooden walkway to the town, whispering to her to stay. He and Tauriel raced across, seeing the shadowy figures of orcs on the rooftops ahead.

Legolas motioned to Tauriel to follow him as he scaled the nearest building, silently reaching the roof. The Elves tracked behind the orcs, leaping soundlessly from rooftop to rooftop. The orcs ahead stopped and seemed to be converging on the house in front of them.

Tauriel looked down and was surprised to see Bofur on a wooden walkway below her. As she watched, an orc tackled him from behind. Swiftly shooting the orc with her bow, she then slid down the side of the house to reach the steps near the walkway, stabbing another orc as she did. The steps led to the house ahead and she ran up them to the open doorway. She could hear the screams of what sounded like children as she reached the door and saw a room quickly filling with orcs. She spun into the small space, catching a glimpse of two frightened girls under a table. Slashing at an orc with her knives, Tauriel turned and caught sight of Fili and Oin as they battled orcs around her.

Legolas dropped through a hole in the roof to join her, slashing his bow at an orc who rushed at him. Tauriel heard Kili bellow behind her and turned around to see him being attacked by an orc as he struggled to get up from a pallet. Her knife flew across the room, killing the orc, and then Tauriel whirled away to stab yet another orc entering the home. Legolas crossed in front of her, knives out now, cutting a lethal path through the orcs on either side of him.

As she scanned the room Tauriel saw Kili stand to stab another orc, then howl as his leg buckled under him and he fell to the floor, writhing.

A guttural shout came from outside and the remaining orcs scurried out of the ravaged house. Legolas followed them. He could see the orcs swarming over the rooftops ahead moving towards the large pale orc-the leader he had seen on the river earlier in the day.

Legolas stepped back into the now-ruined home. "Tauriel, come," he ordered. Kili still writhed on the floor. Oin bent over the younger dwarf, then looked up at Tauriel imploringly. "We're losing him!" he said to her.

Tauriel and Legolas locked eyes. "Tauriel," he said again, as he stepped out into the night. Tauriel moved to follow him out the door but Kili's anguished cry stopped her at the threshold and she turned back to look at him, then looked at Legolas as he leapt from the walkway in pursuit of the orcs.

She paused, torn between her duty to follow Legolas and her need to help Kili. She stepped out onto the landing to follow Legolas, only to come face to face with Bofur, who was inexplicably holding a large bunch of athelas in his hands.

That was it. She made her decision. Legolas was a skilled warrior who knew what he was doing. Kili was dying and Bofur had just brought her the one thing that might save him. She snatched the plant from his shocked hands. "Athelas," she said.

"What are you doing?" Bofur asked her.

"I'm going to save him," she replied, turning back into the house, leaving Bofur standing on the steps, bewildered.

Legolas had seen Tauriel's face when she looked at the dwarf. He sensed that she had not come after him. He pushed that thought away and focused on his pursuit, leaping from walkway to walkway, knives flashing as he cut down the orcs that came between him and their pale leader.

He raced around a corner to the sight of warg riders galloping away and came face to face with the orc leader himself. Legolas drew the Elven sword he had confiscated from Thorin and advanced on the orc. He cut down the two orcs who tried to stop him then he engaged the leader.

This was a massive orc, towering over Legolas. He matched his sword strokes and Legolas went for a deep thrust. The orc grabbed the sword as Legolas went in for the blow. His weight threw Legolas off balance as the orc, still holding the end of the sword, swung him around.

Legolas flew into the pillar nearby then was picked up and tossed into a wall by the fierce orc leader. He fell to the ground and was moving into a crouch as the orc prepared to kick him. Legolas grabbed the orc's leg which threw the orc off balance now. The orc tumbled backward. Legolas leaped towards him as the orc paused, seemingly stunned by the impact.

He grabbed the orc's armored chest and threw him repeatedly into a wooden pillar, briefly succeeding in dazing him, but not for long. Somehow the orc spun around and got his arm around Legolas, now squeezing his chest with his powerful grip.

Legolas threw his head back, the impact loosening the orc's hold on him and he swiftly drew his knife, stabbing him. The orc threw him off and Legolas hit a wall with a bone-jarring impact that made him gasp. It gave the orc just enough time to grab Legolas again and throw him towards a nearby walkway, where two other orcs lurked. Legolas tried to make quick work of them but he was not quick enough. The orc leader rapidly moved away, leaving Legolas behind.

He finished off a third orc that attacked him. Legolas pursued the leader, bending to pick up his dropped sword and unexpectedly swaying as he did. He nearly lost his balance as his head spun. He leaned against a pillar to steady himself, blinking his eyes and shaking his head.

Feeling an unexpected wet sensation under his nose he wiped at it irritably. He stared at the blood on his fingers. That was his blood. Coming from his nose. He grimaced. He had not had an orc draw blood from him in years. He heard a growl nearby and saw the pale orc leap onto a warg near the water.

Legolas shook his head again and felt his anger rise. Who was this orc who thought he could defeat him and then ride off? He raced to the water in pursuit, whistling to Siliviren. He vaulted onto her as she came up to him and he thundered after the pale orc warg-rider in front of him.

Tauriel would have to fend for herself. He was sure she was tending to the dark-haired archer by now. Legolas hoped she brought him peace. Perhaps that would give her some peace as well.


	15. Chapter 15

Tauriel clutched the athelas and stepped closer to Oin. "Can you move him?" she asked.

"Aye, lass. Fili and I will move him for you." Oin responded, motioning to Fili to draw near.

Tauriel scanned the room. She would need hot water for the athelas. She saw the three children staring at her, the two girls and the young man. Bofur moved near. "Sigrid, Tilda, Bain. This is Tauriel. She's an elf from Mirkwood," he said.

Tauriel nodded her head at them. "Is there any hot water I could use?" she asked. She was met by three blank stares and then the oldest one-Sigrid she thought-stepped forward towards the fire.

Tauriel went to the table where Oin and Fili were trying to settle Kili. He moaned as she placed a hand on his forehead. His skin was hot to the touch. "Hold him down," Tauriel said, as Kili continued to twist and turn on the table. Oin and Fili gripped his shoulders as Bain and Bofur went in to grab his legs. Tauriel saw the pot Sigrid had over the fire and she swiftly stepped over to toss the athelas in.

She moved back to Kili's right leg unwrapping the bandages as he bucked and thrashed. The wound was deep and ragged. What concerned her were the black edges surrounded by paler flesh. She placed her fingers gently on the edge of the wound and then drew her hand back hurriedly as he howled and fought. It was so very cold where she had touched.

She strode over to the fireplace and pulled the pot off the flames. Skimming the athelas off the top of the water Tauriel began to crush the leaves in her hands. She stepped back to Kili's side, beginning to chant in Sindarin as she did.

Fili stared at her, gripping his brother's shoulder to keep him pinned down. Oin moved closer to Tauriel, keeping his hold on Kili but straining to hear the words she spoke. She pressed the athelas paste into Kili's wound, causing him to thrash and howl again, straining now against the hands holding him down. She raised her voice in the chant, pressing the athelas deeper into the wound, her eyes not leaving his face. As she continued her incantation Kili slowly calmed down, his breath slowing and his body visibly relaxing and finally going limp.

Sigrid, Bain and Bofur stepped away from the table, leaving Fili and Oin at Kili's side. Tauriel continued to speak the Sindarin words, far more quietly now as she wrapped his leg with a clean dressing. Fili watched her, his face showing the confusion he was feeling. This elf had now saved his brother from a spider, from an orc and now, if this treatment worked, from certain death by poison.

Oin moved closer to Fili, pulling him gently away from the table. "I've heard tell of the wonders of Elven medicine," he said to Fili. "That was a privilege to watch." Fili nodded, his eyes still on Tauriel.

Kili opened his eyes and saw Tauriel.

"Tauriel, " he whispered.

"Lie still," she responded.

"You cannot be her, " Kili said softly. "She is far away. She . . . she is far, far away from me. She walks in starlight, in another world." Tauriel drew closer as he continued. "It was just a dream," he said, reaching for her hand. Their fingers touched. "Do you think she could have loved me?" Kili whispered. Tauried looked into his warm, brown eyes, unable to speak. She gripped his hand tightly and gave him a small smile.

Fili still watched from across the room. He made a small movement towards the table but Oin stopped him, placing a hand on his arm. "Let him be, lad." Oin said. "He's in good hands. Let them have a moment to breathe." Fili looked at Oin uncertainly but he didn't move.

Tauriel gazed down at Kili, who had finally closed his eyes again and drifted off to sleep, his hand still entwined with hers. She kept hold of his hand and reached to gently brush the hair off his face with her other hand. "You have been so strong," she whispered.

When she finally raised her eyes it was to see Fili watching her intently. He moved closer now. "How did you come to be here?" he asked her.

She let go of Kili's hand and pulled up a stool so she could sit by the table, near Kili's head. She motioned for Fili to come near. He moved to his brother's side, laying a hand protectively on Kili's arm. Her face was level with him as she sat across. Fili looked into her green eyes, noticing the tear stains on her cheeks.

Tauriel looked down at Kili and continued to stroke his hair as she spoke. "We could not kill all the orcs on your trail. We captured one and took him back for questioning. He said the arrow was poisoned and he expected Kili to be dead by nightfall." She met Fili's gaze. "I left at once to find you."

"You came because you knew he was poisoned?" Fili asked.

"Did you think I set out to capture the thirteen of you on my own?" she asked sternly.

"But the elf prince. . . " Fili stammered.

"He followed me because he is my friend." Tauriel replied.

"You followed us to tell us he was poisoned?" Fili asked again.

"Yes," she said simply.

"And then you saved his life. Again." Fili stated. Tauriel did not reply, she just held his gaze. "My family and I are forever in your debt," he said softly. "I do not know how we can repay you."

"There is no debt. I thank the stars we came in time." Tauriel said, her eyes going to Kili again. "He is so strong. From the orc's words I feared I would come too late."

Fili put his hand on his brother's shoulder and looked at Tauriel again. "Will he," he paused. "Will this heal him?"

"I think it is helping but I may need more athelas or kingsfoil, as you call it, to make sure we purge the poison from him."

Fili nodded. "I'll set Bofur finding some right away."

Sigrid moved towards the pot and looked questioningly at Tauriel. "Keep the water we boiled it in," Tauriel directed Sigrid. "It will likely help to have him drink it when he wakes."

Fili stepped over to Bofur and spoke to him quietly. "Aye, I'll go right away." Bofur said, heading towards the door. Fili walked back to the table where Kili lay.

"You came after us, with a pack of orcs between us, to save my brother." She looked at him and nodded at his words. "There is bad blood between Elves and Dwarves," he continued. "I would never have expected an elf to care about the life of one dwarf."

"Do we not all fight the same enemy?" Tauriel asked. "Are we not all people of this world? Why would his life mean less than another's?" She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him.

Fili bowed his head. " I have misjudged you from the first, Tauriel. I thought you were my enemy. I thought you were a spy. I thought you were just a pretty face my brother liked to look at." He looked down at Kili. "But I was wrong. He saw the good in you from the beginning. I see it now and you have my apologies for doubting you."

Tauriel gave him a small smile. "Are we friends now, Fili?"

"It would be an honor." Fili bowed as he spoke."I am at your service, my lady."

Tauriel bowed her head back at him. "My thanks to you, Fili." She glanced back at Kili, who was still sleeping peacefully. "I will sit with him until he wakes. Why don't you get some rest?"

Fili nodded and then moved away to help Bain and Oin begin removing the Orc bodies from the home.

Bofur soon returned with a somewhat mangled bunch of kingsfoil which he brought to Tauriel. "I found this for you, lass."

"Thank you." Tauriel stood and took it from him, moving to the sink to fill a bowl with water for the athelas. "This will keep it fresh for him in the morning."

She turned to Sigrid, who was still standing in the kitchen. "Have you a glass or mug I can place the athelas water into so he can drink?"

Sigrid nodded and then looked at the mess of the kitchen with a frown. She shook her head and then reached up into a cabinet, bringing out a clay mug with a cracked handle. "Guess this will have to do," she said, pouring the athelas water into it and handing it to Tauriel.

Tauriel placed it on the counter near the table and returned to Kili's side, intermittenly stroking his hair. The house grew quiet, as the others finished the clean up work and Tilda was put to bed. The rest curled up in various corners of the room to sleep.

Kili woke later in the night, disoriented and looking around the room weakly. "Rest, " Tauriel whispered to him, laying her hand on his shoulder to push him back down. He startled at her voice and stared at her.

"Tauriel. How can you be here? Am I dreaming?" He struggled to raise himself. "I cannot bear it if this is another dream."

"Be still," she murmured, easing him back down onto the table. "You must rest." He gave her a puzzled look.

"I am dreaming again," he said. "I have wished to see your face so many times. I saw you tonight, like a star come down from the heavens." He shook his head, as if to clear it and looked at her again.

"I am here, Kili," Tauriel said, taking his hand and lacing her fingers with his."You have been so strong, Kili. Now it is time to heal. Sleep. Please."

"But how can you be here?" he persisted.

She looked down at him and said "I came to find you."

"Why?" he asked, looking at her intently.

"I could not let you die without trying. . ." she paused. "Without trying to help you."

"You saved me again, didn't you?" he asked. "That was no vision I saw before. That was you."

"I know not what you saw but I have been here and tended to your wound."

He squeezed her hand. "I owe you my life yet again. Three times now, Tauriel. I am forever in your debt."

"You are alive. There is no debt. Your safety is all I wished for." Her face drew closer to his and then she laid her head on his shoulder. She drew a deep breath and he felt her relax against him. He could smell the fresh, floral scent of her, closed his eyes and thought even if this was yet another dream at least he was with her in it.

They stayed that way for a few moments and then she lifted her head again to look at him. "Can you drink a little?" she asked. He nodded. Tauriel went to stand up but the grip he had on her hand tightened sharply. "I won't go far," she said with a smile, bending down to kiss him on the forehead. She stood, still holding his hand and reached for the mug of athelas water.

She brought it near and nodded at it. "I must help you sit up a bit." He loosened his grip on her hand and together they lifted his head so he could drink. He winced a little as he sat up and moved his leg.

"Does it hurt?" she asked.

"Feels more stiff than painful now," he answered, resting a little more upright on one elbow. She made him drink a little more, then set the mug on the counter.

"Now you really must get some rest. I'll change your dressing in the morning." She frowned at him. "It might hurt but it must be done." She sat down again, so she was near eye level with him. "Lay back, Kili."

He stayed sitting up. "Did I speak to you?"he asked. "Did I speak to you when you were healing me?"

The blush on her face confirmed it. "I don't think you knew what you were saying," she stammered. "You were so very ill."

"I know exactly what I said," he answered. "I asked you a question and I didn't get an answer as I recall." He reached up and gently stroked her face. She closed her eyes briefly at his touch, then looked at him again. "Could you have?" he asked. "Could you have loved me?"

Her eyes softened and he was surprised to see tears in them. "Do you not know?" she whispered. "Am I not here?" He continued to meet her gaze. "How could I not?" she smiled, the tears now making their way down her cheeks.

He pulled her to him and kissed her fervently, his fingers winding into her hair. She kissed him back, her hands finding his neck, his face, his hair. They pulled away to catch their breath and she smiled at him again. "Now that you have your answer, will you not rest?"

"Will you stay with me?" he asked.

She kissed him again, then pushed him back down. "I will not leave your side."

He leaned back, the exhaustion showing in his face, but a smile brightening it just a bit. "I can rest if I know you are here." He reached for her hand, closed his eyes, let out a breath and went to sleep.

Tauriel held his hand and gazed at him. She had no need for sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

Fili woke in the night. He sat up in the low firelight and looked around the room, berating himself for having fallen asleep and not set up a watch. But then he saw Tauriel was still awake. She sat by Klli's side still, closer to him than before.

As if she felt his gaze on her, she turned to look at Fili, smiled slightly and then returned her eyes to his brother. Fili walked across the room to her. "How fares my brother?" he asked in a low voice.

"He rests. I think the pain seems to have lessened," she whispered back, not looking up.

"You've saved his life. I do not know how you did it but we were losing him tonight and you brought him back." Fili replied.

Tauriel raised her eyes to meet his now. "I do not know if all the poison is gone. Oin did well to take the arrow head out before I came. But the poison has had time in his flesh. I may need to treat him again come morning." She frowned. "I will change the dressing and try again when he wakes. But for now he needs to sleep and rest." She turned back to Kili and gently brushed the hair from his face, just the way their mother had when Kili had been ill with fever as a child, Fili thought.

He drew in his breath and looked sharply at Tauriel. He knew his brother was more than just fond of this elf but he was just realizing tonight that she felt the same. "You care for him?" Fili asked bluntly.

"I care for all living things." Tauriel said vaguely.

"Do you really chase after orc packs by yourself and abandon your post for 'all living things'?" Fili asked, a bit more sharply than he intended.

Tauriel glared at him. "What do you know of my choices?" she whispered fiercely.

"You chose my brother over your prince. You tell me what that means." Fili countered.

Tauriel stared at him, her shoulders drooping. "Tonight Kili needed me more," she said. "I will not forgive myself for letting Legolas go on alone. But I could not let your brother die without trying to help him."

"I do not mean to judge-your actions tonight saved not only Kili but us all." Fili continued. "My brother cares for you. I heard what he said to you right after you healed him." He looked at Tauriel curiously. "Could you have?"

"I already do." Tauriel said.

Fili gripped the table to steady himself. He could see the emotion in her usually controlled features. "Well I think you know by now how he feels about you." Fili shook his head. "I don't quite know what to say." He had a pretty good idea what Thorin would say and the thought made him close his eyes and shake his head again. "You've saved his life. Three times now. You seem to care for him, as he does for you." Fili took a deep breath and then gave Tauriel a small smile. "Mahal bless you both. We'll make it work somehow."

Tauriel looked at him gratefully. "I am happy I could do something to help him." she said simply.

"Will you rest?" he asked. "I can watch him through the night." He noticed now that she was holding Kili's hand.

She shook her head. "Elves need little sleep. Rest while you can. I think I will not have the opportunity to sit with him like this again soon," she said. "So I will stay with him tonight, if you allow me."

"You've earned the right to do as you choose." Fili replied. "I've watched over him my whole life. I won't begrudge you this night." He tipped his head to her and returned to his resting place, watching her as she placed her head on his brother's shoulder. Thorin wasn't going to like this one bit. Neither would that Elven prince.

Kili's wound worried Tauriel. The fact that the flesh around the wound was so cold while the rest of him was burning with fever concerned her. The athelas certainly seemed to be helping. He would need to drink more of the athelas water in addition to having her pack his wound with the leaves again. Kili sighed and moved slightly in his sleep. She touched his forehead again, relieved that at least for now the fever had resolved. The pulse at his neck was stong and steady, slower than it had been earlier.

As she pulled her fingers away from his neck she felt the room shake, as if an earthquake had struck.

Fili scrambled to his feet and looked around as the others were all startled awake by the shaking. Kili was the only one who slept through it.

Tauriel stood up and quickly made her way to the window.

"Was that an earthquake?" Sigrid asked Fili anxiously, as she came out of the bedroom, Bain and Tilda following her.

"There is fire on the mountain." Tauriel said.

"It is the dragon," said Oin, shaking his head. "We must get out of here."

Fili locked eyes with Tauriel, then looked quickly in Kili's direction. How were they going to move him?

"I must check his wound." Tauriel said, moving back to the table rapidly.

"I'll help you, lass." Oin said coming to Kili's side. "We must get him on his feet if we are going to get out of here or you'll have saved him for nothing."

"Are we going to die?" asked Tilda fearfully.

"No child! We'll be out of here. Smaug may be a dragon but he's an old, lazy one. We'll be long gone before he comes this way." Bofur said to her, as cheerily as he could manage. "Now let's get some blankets and some warmer clothes and get you ready to go." Bofur nodded at Bain and Sigrid. They began to scurry around the small house to collect what they would need..

Tauriel gently woke Kili. He opened his eyes and looked around sleepily then smiled as his eyes found Tauriel. "You are still here. It was not just a fever dream." He tried to sit up but she shook her head at him.

"I must change your dressing," she said. Oin was already boiling the water for the kingsfoil.

Tauriel unwrapped his leg. Kili kept his eyes on her face and Fili kept his hand on his brother's shoulder. Kili didn't move as she swept away the old athelas poultice. The flesh was warmer to the touch and had lost its pale color. The wound edges were clean and the blackness had receded.

Oin walked over with the athelas, taking a close look at the wound when he did. He gave Tauriel an approving look. "Lass, you know your healing. It was a privilege to watch you and a debt we owe you for saving the lad's life." He bowed awkwardly, the pot still in his hands. "I'd scarce say it was the same wound if I hadn't dressed it myself yesterday. He'll have the scar all his days but I doubt it will trouble him much." He peered closely at the wound again. "A rare privilege," he repeated.

Tauriel washed the wound with some of the athelas water, then crushed the athelas leaves in to a paste again, murmuring in Sindarin. She pressed the athelas in to the wound again, with only a slight wince from Kili this time.

As she wrapped his leg again she glanced up at his face. "All well, Kili?" she asked.

"Better now that you are here, my lady," His smile grew and he gave her a wink.

Her face lit up at that familiar phrase and her smile took his breath away. He had seen her bathed in light when she healed him but this time the light in her eyes was visible not only to him but to Fili and Oin who were watching her also.

Fili looked from Tauriel to Kili and then coughed slightly as his cheeks reddened. "Come, Oin. Let's get prepared to leave this place, before that dragon reaches us."

Oin looked from Tauriel to Kili as well and opened his mouth as if to speak but then stopped, nodded at Fili and moved away from the table.

Tauriel leaned down to Kili. "I'm sorry if I hurt you. Your wound looks much better but I don't know how easy it will be for you to walk." She put her hand on his shoulder. "We need to get out of here," she explained. "It seems something or someone was woken the dragon. I don't think any of us want to be here if he heads this way."

"The dragon?" Kili eyes widened and he struggled to sit up. "But Thorin. . ."

"May yet live." Tauriel replied. "I would like us to also. I didn't come all this way to find you just to be burnt to a crisp by a dragon." She helped him into a sitting position. "How do you feel?"

Kili sat up and swung his legs over the side of the table. "I am not in pain, Tauriel."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Let me get you something to drink before you try to stand and walk." She took the athelas pot and poured the liquid into his mug and brought it to his lips. He took it from her and drank it on his own.

He took a deep breath and said "Let's see what this leg can do." Holding his arm, she helped him stand. He rose more steadily than she expected, nodded to her and then took a few steps to the chair nearby, sinking into it.

"Can he go, Tauriel? Can we move him?" Fili was at her side now, looking up at her with a worried expression.

Kili made a face. "I'm fine, Fili."

Tauriel nodded down to Fili. "He must be ready, Fili. We must go now." The house shook again as she spoke. "We must get to the water and out onto the Lake." she finished. She motioned to Sigrid, Tilda and Bain. Bofur and Oin herded the children to the door, Tauriel following with her blades drawn. Fili held his arm out to Kili.

"Are you ready, brother?" he asked.

Kili grasped his hand, stood up and then gripped Fili's shoulder. "Aye, I'm ready." The brothers followed Tauriel, Kili leaning on Fili as he limped down to the boat.


	17. Chapter 17

Tauriel steered the boat towards the more open water ahead. They had made their way through the canals of the city, the dragon flying over them and the city burning around them. Bain had left them when he caught sight of his father, at the top of a tall tower, shooting arrows at the dragon overhead. Bain had shouted to Bard, then leapt out of the boat, to the despair of his sisters. They had all watched him climb the tower to reach his father but they were now further away. They were nearing the edge of the town, towards the open lake, other small boats in the water around them.

Tilda and Sigrid huddled together, Oin next to them. The girls struggled to glimpse the tower where they had last seen their brother and father. The dragon still flew overhead, breathing fire onto the remnants of the buildings. As they watched him Smaug flew straight up above the town, their eyes fearfully following his ascent. Then the dragon suddenly dropped, gravity pulling him down onto the ruin of Laketown, his great wings stilled and his fire quenched.

"He got him!" Kili cried out, as their boat rocked in the water from the impact. "He got him with his arrow. He must have!" Kili looked around at the others. "Smaug is no more!"

They all looked back at the burning wreck of Laketown, now burdened with the massive corpse of the great dragon.

"Da!" Tilda sobbed, clutching at Sigrid.

Kili reached forward and laid a gentle hand on her head. "It's all right, child. He got the dragon first. He's out there somewhere. He'll find us when it's light."

His eyes locked over her head with his brother's. Fili shook his head slightly and raised an eyebrow. Kili shook his head back and nodded at Tilda. "He'll find us, don't you worry," he repeated.

Tauriel concentrated on steering the boat. She could see the shore ahead, the fire behind them illuminating the shoreline. She set the boat in the direction of the nearest rocky beach, Fili and Bofur steadliy rowing.. Moments later their vessel ground to a halt on the rocky beach.

"It is too dark to seek shelter in the woods," Tauriel said. "With the dragon dead we may safely stay here in the boat for the rest of the night. It is better not risk the rocks and forest."

"We've blankets here in the boat," said Bofur. "With all of us huddled together we'll not freeze tonight." He pulled up a blanket and stepped to wrap it around Sigrid and Tilda.

"Tauriel is the boat secure on the shore here?" Fili asked.

She looked at him in surprise that he was deferring to her with regards to their plans. She nodded at him. "The boat will not move from this shore with all our weight in it. It is best to stay here until morning comes."

He moved up close to her, lowering his voice as he spoke. "There is great death and destruction in Laketown. I fear for those on the mountain-this fate may have been theirs earlier in the night." His face was drawn and tense. "We must seek out Thorin and our companions in the light of day. To bring them word of the dragon's end or to bear witness to their own, I do not know. " His face was troubled.

"There is little you can do tonight, Fili. Rest while you can and we will see what the light of day brings us." she whispered softly to him, laying her hand on his shoulder. "Now let us get settled until daybreak. There is no more to be done tonight for Laketown or your company."

Bofur now sat with the girls in the middle of the boat. Oin went to the far end and Fili moved to sit with him, taking a blanket for them to share. 'I'll take first watch, Tauriel," Fili said as he settled down next to Oin. "You check on Kili." He motioned towards his brother, near Tauriel at her end of the boat. He picked up a blanket and tossed it back to her. "Keep him warm," he said with a wink.

Tauriel blushed and shook her head at him as she caught the blanket. Kili sat near her, staring now at the ruin of Laketown. She sat down next to him, sliding nearer on the bench where he sat, making sure she avoided his bad leg. She threw the blanket over his shoulders.

He turned his face to her, his eyes dark and haunted. "They have lost everything," he said. "My companions woke the dragon and are likely dead themselves but we brought this catastrophe to Laketown." He held her gaze, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. "We came to them for help and brought them destruction. It is Erebor all over again."

"But the dragon is no more," she said gently, taking his hand in hers. "Your friends may yet live and Laketown can be rebuilt, without the threat of Smaug." She leaned into him. "There is nothing we can do tonight, Kili, but be thankful we and so many others yet live and that Smaug does not."

He turned back to look at Laketown and the Lonely Mountain, took a deep breath then gently rested his head on her shoulder, slipping an arm around her waist. She let out the breath she had been holding and rested her cheek on his head. She reached out for his other hand and held it, kissing his forehead as she did. No fever.

"Rest a bit. You are but tonight healed and tomorrow will be a challenging day for all of us." she said.

"You'll stay with me?" he asked.

"I'm here with you." she replied, squeezing his hand.

"I'll not let you go, Tauriel. I could not bear to part with you again."

"Rest, Kili. The morning will bring new tidings. You know Fili plans for you to leave for the mountain," she said.

"And you? What will you do, Tauriel? Where will you go?" He lifted his head off her shoulder to look at her.

She sighed and did not answer right away. She had willfully left the Woodland Realm, then failed to follow Legolas' command to leave Laketown with him. Where Legolas had gone she did not know but she knew him. He had gone after the orcs. She was sure of that.

"Tauriel?" Kili asked again.

"Morning shall bring me counsel as well, Kili. I do not know much other than I fear Laketown will need someone with healing skill, at least for now." She looked at him steadily. "We will speak more in the morning, mellon."

"What did you call me?" Kili asked her curiously. "I know no Elvish."

"I called you friend," she said with a smile, then added "It's not likely a word often directed by an elf to a dwarf."

"Mellon." he repeated. "Friend. No, I can't say I expect any elf has said that to a dwarf in an age." He looked up at her earnestly. "I am honored, mellon." he said back to her, then smiled. "Truly I am honored to be called your friend." He took a deep breath and continued. "But I would have us be more than friends, Tauriel," he said in a low voice, gripping her hand tightly.

Her breath caught and she found her face getting hot. His eyes gazed at her, full of admiration, tenderness and love. She had no words for him. There was so much to say and he wouldn't understand the Sindarin phrases that were coming to her mind, endearments she had heard her parents murmur to each other long ago before they were lost.

Sometimes there were no right words. Not caring that all in the boat with them could see her silhouetted in the fiery light of burning Laketown, she grasped his face with both her hands and kissed him soundly on the mouth, her lips melting into his eagerly. His arms wrapped around her and he held her tightly to him, his lips on hers, as if to drink her in.

Her heart beat fast and she could feel his rapid heartbeat as she ran her hands over his neck and up in to his hair. She pulled away slowly, reluctantly, then smiled at him and said "More than friends, Kili, of that there is no doubt."

"You'll be aware there's children on this boat now, you two," chided Bofur from behind them.

Tauriel and Kili both quickly looked back, as Bofur gave them a broad smile and a wink, nodding at Tilda and Sigrid, who were fast asleep.

"We need a bigger boat," Oin said, shaking his head.

The fire showed Fili's face, at the far end of the boat. He looked at Kili intently, as if searching for an answer to an unasked question. Kili met his gaze and looked from Fili to Tauriel and then back to his brother. He nodded once at Fili and made a gesture with his hands, his face serious and solemn. Fili drew in a deep breath and then nodded back at Kili and then Tauriel, making a gesture back at his brother. He nodded one more time to Kili and then looked away to scan the surroundings again.

"Well, that's all right then." Kili said contentedly.

"What's all right then?" Tauriel asked.

"We are. You and me." Kili turned to look at her again. "He's agreed to it."

"Agreed to what?" Tauriel asked.

"Us."

"But neither of you said anything. What was that you did with your hands? Were you talking that way?" Tauriel persisted.

"It's part of our unspoken language. He knew what I asked and gave his answer. The answer I wanted him to give." Kili put his arm around Tauriel and rested his head on her shoulder again.

"What was the question?" There was a hint of frustration in her voice now.

Kili looked up at her with a solemn expression on his face. "Dwarves take kinship very seriously," he said. "He would die for me and I for him." He kept his eyes on hers. "He will do the same for you now, should anything happen to me."

Tauriel's eyes widened. She turned to look at Fili then at Kili again.

"More than friends, Tauriel. You have my heart and my brother has accepted that and acknowledged that. He bears the same responsibility for you as he bears to me. You are as his kin now."

"I cannot expect this from him, Kili." Tauriel protested.

"It is not expected but freely given." Kili placed his hand over his heart and inclined his head. "I am yours. All that I am, all that I will be, all that I possess and all that are dear to me are yours as well." He looked up at her again, his eyes full of hope. "If you will accept it-it is all I have to give."

"But you have given me everything," she said. "I have nothing to give in return-no family, likely no home, nothing but. . . myself," she finished.

"There is no treasure on this earth more precious to me than you, Tauriel. It is more than I had ever hoped for and far more than I deserve." he replied. He reached up to stroke her cheek and traced the outline of her jaw with his finger. She closed her eyes and felt his lips on hers again. She kissed him again then leaned into him with a sigh as he circled her with his arms.

"We sit on the edge of ruin and despair but there is such joy in my heart, Tauriel."

"And in mine, Kili." She relaxed into his arms and felt she had come home. "Now will you not rest, so you can heal?"

"I will do whatever you ask of me." he answered. They watched the flames of Laketown flicker until he drifted off to sleep.

Tauriel continued to watch the flames die down as Kili slept. Tonight all seemed clear and simple but she knew tomorrow would get complicated. She and Kili had an understanding but his place was with his brother and despite his words she knew there was no place for her at the mountain. Not yet. She would tell him to go with Fili, to seek out the fates of their companions.

She would stay with the girls until Bard or Bain were found or until the girls were at least reunited with some familiar faces. But then she must seek out Legoals and make amends. Their friendship ran too long and too deep for her to let this pass. She had no fear of him but she knew the King would not be as understanding of her actions. Best to let Kili go to the mountain and seek the answers to be found there. She would seek her own and return to him when she had them.

They had time ahead. A lifetime, at least as far as dwarven lifetimes went. She rested in his arms as the flames slowly diminished and light began to show in the east.


	18. Chapter 18

The morning sun illuminated the utter devastation of Laketown. The city remnants lay shrouded in ash and smoke. Boats crowded the shoreline as bodies washed up along with the debris of a city laid waste.

Sigrid and Tilda had woken early and were frantically scanning the shore around them, Tauriel shadowing their steps as they searched among the survivors for Bard and Bain.

The dwarves had stayed near the boat. Kili and Oin had wanted to join the rescue attempts but Fili, concerned about the residents blaming their company for the dragon's attack, had counseled them to stay put.

"Fili, I cannot sit by and do nothing," Kili said, continuing his argument with his brother. "No doubt that our company woke Smaug and brought this devastation on them," he said, gesturing at the destruction around them. "Don't argue with me about that-you cannot deny it." He reached out to his brother, grasping his shoulder tightly. "We owe it to them to help, not sit skulking in the boat. They helped us when we needed it. It is right for us to do the same."

"There's injured and wounded, " Oin added. "I doubt they've many healers here. The Elven lass and I could help with that. I can't stand by and watch without doing something, Fili."

"We must leave for the mountain, " Fili repeated stubbornly. "We must find our kin."

Bofur sighed. "I don't feel right leaving the girls, Fili. Bard did right by us. Now he's missing we need to mind the lasses."

Fili frowned. He knew they were right. He bowed his head and clenched his jaw. He was horrified at the devastation around him but if Thorin was dead. . . he had to think about the consequences if that was the case. He shuddered at the thought of it but he knew he had to face that possibility head on. If Thorin was dead the he, Fili, was now the leader of the company and the King Under the Mountain. What would a King do? What should a King do? What would Thorin do?

He looked at his companions: Oin looking around with a concerned expression on his face. Bofur keeping his gaze on the ground and not meeting Fili's eyes. His brother staring at him, anger and disappointment clearly in his face.

Fili silently answered his own question. Thorin would look after his kin. Thranduil would look after his kin. Those answers may fit for them but they didn't fit for him. He knew he should order them into the boat and set them on their way to Erebor. But that was not his way. That was not what was right. He lowered his head, took a deep breath and then met Kili's eyes.

"We must find out what happened to Thorin and the Company," he said, raising his hand to wave away Kili's angry exclamation. "But before we can do that we must do what we can for the girls and those around us," he finished. "We cannot tarry long but we cannot just leave them like this."

Oin turned briskly to Bofur. "Let's get some of these wounded out of the water." he said.

"Aye, at least that's a start," Bofur replied and the two moved toward the shore.

Kili stepped closer to Fili. "Our kin may have perished on the mountain and we cannot aid them anymore. But we can do something for these people."

"Kili, if Thorin is dead then I am the heir. I must be the one responsible for the company. If any live on the mountain then my place is with them. And if we are in danger here I must get us away." He looked at his brother. "It is my job to look after our people now."

Kili breathed out a sigh and reached over to embrace his brother. "I'm sorry, Fili. You've got the weight of it all on you now and I didn't even stop to think it through."

Fili returned his hug fiercely. "You're using your heart, not your head again, brother." Fili stepped back, his hands on Kili's shoulders, their faces inches away from each other. "I almost lost you last night, Kili. I know you want to help but I need you alive, by my side, to help me do what I have to do for our people." He looked around them and then looked back at Kili. "I will help with the wounded. You stay with the girls. Tauriel is more use healing than watching over Sigrid and Tilda." He gave his brother a smile. "You'll likely find something to get their minds off their fear."

"Fili, I'm fine. Tauriel healed me. She said the wound looked completely clean this morning and I've hardly a limp." Kili retorted.

"Well someone's got to mind the girls and Tauriel's skill as a healer proves she's needed with Oin!" Fili thumped Kili on the back. "Stay here by the boat and I'll bring the girls to you." Kili nodded and watched Fili make his way up the beach to where Tauriel was standing with the girls, the color of her hair standing out from the gray surroundings.

She and the girls made their way back to the boat and Kili. Tauriel smiled down at him. "Keep an eye on them." she warned. "They keep thinking they can run off to find Bard in this chaos. They're better off staying in one place. I'll see what I can do to help with the wounded." She touched his shoulder lightly then turned to follow Fili up the shore.

Kili put an arm around Tilda and Sigrid. "Have you seen anyone you know?" he asked. They both began to talk at once and he nodded at their words. "Let's just walk up the hill here a little bit and see if we can get a better look around," he said, turning both of them away from the water and the bodies on the shore. He kept his arms on their shoulders as they made their way up the hill, a comfort to them and a support to him.

Fili kept up with Tauriel. She made her way along the shoreline, examining bodies, shaking her head and then moving on from those that were beyond her help. She would pause occasionally to examine a wound, bind an arm, straighten a leg, giving instructions to those near as she moved from person to person. Fili gazed at her in awe, feeling useless until she sent him running to find cloth and wood so she could fashion splints for broken limbs. She showed him how to bind a broken arm or leg and he followed in her wake, binding and bandaging as she moved through the wounded.

Kili's leg began to stiffen as he climbed up the rocky terrain by the lake, grateful for the girls assistance. He, Tilda and Sigrid reached the grassy area at the top of the small hill. This seemed to be a natural gathering place for the survivors, with its vantage viewing point and proximity to the forest beyond.

Kili noticed a crowd gathering not far away and walked the girls over in that direction. Perhaps they would discover news of Bard there. As they neared the gathering Kili heard shouts and voices raised in anger. He tried to move forward but the press of survivors was thick and he could not see due to his stature. One voice raised above the others sounded familiar to him but before he could think it through Tilda darted away from his side, shouting "Da!" Sigrid followed right behind her and Kili was blocked by the crowd pressing together in front of him. He called to the girls but the shouting grew louder and he knew he'd lost them. Cursing silently he tried to push his way forward to squeeze through to where he could see.

He still couldn't break through to the front of the crowd but he recognized the voice now. Bard! Thank Mahal, the man was still alive it seemed. He squirmed and pushed again, wincing and drawing his breath in sharply as his leg jarred into the man standing next to him. This was no good. He would just have to wait it out.

Slowly the crowd began to thin, from behind him first then those around moved further away until only a dozen or so people were left near. He finally spotted Bard, his arms around the girls, and limped his way over.

"Bard!" he called. Bard spun around and the Tilda ran over to help Kili walk the last few steps to reach her father. Bard grasped him by the forearm as he drew near, then embraced him tightly.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you for watching over my girls."

Kili stepped back and looked up at Bard. "It was the least we could do after your care of us, Dragon-slayer," he said with a jaunty smile at the bowman.

Bard shook his head. "People need to stop calling me that." He looked at Kili closely. "You're looking a sight better than when I last saw you."

Kili didn't have a chance to answer before Tilda broke in. "Oh Da! The Elvish lady healed him! She healed him with Elven magic! I saw her and we helped, Da!"

"Elvish lady?" Bard said curiously.

"Da there were two of them-Elves I mean-they saved us from the orcs and then she healed Kili and she took us out on the boat." Sigrid added.

Bard looked sharply at Bain, who had come near and had an arm around Sigrid now. "Lad, what's all this about Elves and orcs? You didn't find it worth a mention before now?"

Bain looked down at the grass and then back at Bard. "I think the dragon pushed it right out of my mind, Da. I did tell you the girls were in the boat and that we'd likely find them on the shore here."

"That you did, lad but I think you might have mentioned the orcs at least." Bard said, ruffling his son's hair.

Kili smiled at Bain. "It's good to see you, lad. We thought we'd lost you for good when you left the boat." Kili turned to Bard. "Tilda's right-Elves from Mirkwood followed us and fought off an orc attack at your home. The Prince followed the orc pack but the Captain stayed to help us. Elven healing magic seems to have put me to rights."

"The Prince?" Bard gaped. "The Prince of Mirkwood?"

"Aye, that's the one." Kili answered. Bard stared at Kili, pulling his girls a little closer to him and giving their shoulders a squeeze.

Kili addressed Bard again. "Now that we've found you I'll head on back to the boat. I wanted to make sure the girls found you before we left for the mountain."

"You are headed there?" Bard asked. "I fear you will find devastation and ruin. Your companions likely faced the wrath of the dragon before he ever turned towards Laketown."

Kili nodded. "I fear that too but we must know what happened. If any survive there they will need our aid."

Bard reached out a hand and grasped Kili's forearm again. "I wish you all the best." He looked around him then back at Kili."We've not much left here but if you need our help with your friends. . ."

"Thank you, Bard. We owe you for all you've done. I don't doubt I'll be seeing you again soon once we've sorted out what waits for us in Erebor." Kili said.

Tilda and Sigrid hugged him goodbye and Bain shook his hand with a wry smile. Kili limped back down the hill, pausing to raise a hand to the reunited family one more time before losing sight of them.


	19. Chapter 19

Kili scanned the nearby shoreline and forest for his companions or Tauriel but he couldn't see them anywhere. He limped back to the boat and sat on a large rock nearby. His leg was sore. Not painful as it had been before Tauriel healed him but still he didn't think he could walk too much more right now.

Further up the lake shoreline Tauriel and Fili continued their work. They had found Oin earlier but Tauriel had suggested that she remain with Fili and that Bofur continue with Oin. They would get more done that way and Oin was in full agreement.

Fili looked at the angle of the sun and moved close to Tauriel. "I must get back to Kili." he said to her. "We've got to reach the mountain before nightfall."

Tauriel looked up from the woman whose arm she was wrapping. "I will come with you," she said to him, tying off the bandage and murmuring a few words to the woman with the burned arm.

She stood up and stretched her back. "Do you think he stayed by the boat?"

Fili made a face. "Of course not. I just hope it doesn't take all day to find him." His brows drew together with concern.

They fell easily into step next to each other. "We leave for the mountain,Tauriel, but where will you go?"

She shrugged. "I am needed here it seems."

"I doubt Kili will let you stay here that easily. I'm honestly surprised he even let you out of his sight today." Fili paused and looked up at her as they walked. "He cares deeply for you, Tauriel. You know that was an oath he invoked on your behalf last night."

She stared down at Fili, startled. "He said it was an agreement of protection." She continued "And I mean no offense, Fili, but I'd say he needs protection more than I do."

"It is an agreement of protection but I swore an oath. You are now as blood of my blood. I vowed to protect you as I would him." He narrowed his eyes. "It is the oath a family takes when we welcome a new member-like a wife." he finished looking at her pointedly.

She stopped walking mid-step, staring down at him with her mouth slightly open. "What are you saying, Fili?"

"I'm saying he invoked the oath of protection reserved for a betrothed or a wife, Tauriel. This isn't some idle lovestruck banter to him. He's serious. Serious enough to do that and drag me into it." He looked up at her doubtfully now. "Do you have any idea what that means for a dwarf to do that for an elf?"

She continued to stare at him, not able to come up with a suitable reply.

"He means to make this official, Tauriel." He shook his head at her. "You best be prepared."

Tauriel blinked at him and then looked down at her feet. "I can't imagine a life without him, Fili."

It was his turn to stare at her. "You've left your life and home for him already, haven't you?" he said quietly. "You chose him over your prince. I reckon there is no going back on that."

She sighed. "I wouldn't change my decision, even if I could."

Fili frowned. "He's going to want you to come to the mountain with us, Tauriel."

"I cannot do that, Fili. I owe Legolas an explanation, if nothing else. He is not only my prince, but also my oldest friend. He followed me when I went after you. But I did not follow him. I let him pursue the orcs alone. I cannot change that but I need to put it to rest between us." Fili nodded and they resumed walking.

"I can't say I'm not a bit relieved, Tauriel." He went on to explain as he caught the expression on her face. "If Thorin is still alive, by the grace of Mahal, I can tell you he isn't going to take this well. Not well at all. It's not the first thing I'd like being discussed when we reach the mountain! And if he's not alive . . . I'm afraid I'll have more things to deal with than my brother's love life."

" I am sure you will." Tauriel replied. "No, Fili, this is not the time me for me to go to the mountain. We will find each other again." They continued on in silence.

"We're almost at the boat," Fili said a few minutes later. "And there's Kili." He stopped again, putting a hand on Tauriel's arm to get her attention. "My brother chooses you," he said very quietly. "I have his back and I have yours. And I'll figure out how to manage Thorin," he said, shaking his head. "I wish you both the greatest happiness. He's lucky to have found a healer to share his life with-I'm sure it will come in handy for him." He smiled at her and walked away towards Kili.

Tauriel saw that Oin and Bofur were approaching from the other direction. They all gathered by the boat.

"I found Bard," Tauriel heard Kili say to Fili as she drew near. "I got the girls to him. He had Bain with him so they're all accounted for."

"We've done what we can here then," said Fili. "Now that the girls are with Bard it's time we were on our way." He strode towards the boat and fussed with the ropes. Oin and Bofur moved to either side of the boat to help push it back into the water.

Kili looked unsettled at this rapid plan of departure. "Tauriel." he said.

"Kili. Come on. We're leaving," Fili called.

"They are your people. You must go," Tauriel said to him. She nodded at him and started to turn away. He needed to go with Fili and she needed to make her peace with Legolas. If she could find Legolas.

He stopped her. "Tauriel. Come with me. You know how I feel. I'm not afraid. Not afraid of Thorin, not afraid of what people will think or say. I know you make me feel alive."

"I can't," Tauriel said, turning her head away and closing her eyes. "Not now. There are things we both must do. Go with your brother."

"Tauriel." Kili repeated, drawing close to her. "Amralime."

Tauriel stared at him, "I don't know what that means."

Kili grinned at her. "I think you do." He reached for her and she bent her head to kiss him but then suddenly stiffened, straightened up and looked at the water, over his head.

"Hir-nin Legolas," she said in Sindarin, surprising Klli until he caught sight of the fair haired elf up the hill behind her.

"Take your leave of the dwarf, Tauriel. You are needed elsewhere." Legolas said to her in Sindarin, his eyes locked on Kili coldly.

Tauriel and Kili looked at each other and then, his shoulders slumping down, Kili turned to leave, his face ashen.

As Tauriel took one last look at him he stopped and then suddenly turned around, closing the distance between them. He reached out his hand to her and he placed his runestone in her palm and closed her fingers over it.

"Keep it," he said. "As a promise." He gave her a small wistful smile, squeezed her fingers one last time and turned back to join the other dwarves at the boat.

She looked down at the runestone in her hand and her eyes filled with tears. Her gaze followed him as she watched the boat slide into the water and move across the lake. Kili turned to look at her. She stood on the shore, oblivious to Legolas standing just behind her until the boat was far away, her fingers clenched around the stone in her hand. She shook her head and then turned to Legolas.

"Legolas. . ." she began. "I had hoped to find you. " she faltered.

"But I find you again instead, Tauriel. You did not follow me." His voice was gentler than she expected.

"He was dying, Legolas."

"He doesn't look to be dying now, Tauriel." Legolas replied.

"Legolas, believe me when I tell you if I had not healed him he would be dead today." She looked down. "I did not follow you. But I could not imagine him gone from this world because of a foul orc arrow, not if I could possibly stop it."

"We have lost countless friends to orc arrows, Tauriel."

"I could not save them, Legolas! I might not have been able to save him. But I did. If one life has been saved from the shadow does it matter if it is elf, man or dwarf? If I could save one life from the torment of that kind of death I would not change my decision to stay." Tauriel said.

Legolas bowed his head. He took in a deep breath and then looked up at her, sadness and turmoil there, but then his gaze softened to one that was all too familiar. "You did well to save this one life, Tauriel. That is a death I would not wish on anyone." He straightened up and narrowed his eyes at her. "You do seem to spend much of your time saving this particular dwarf, Tauriel." His eyes locked on hers. "One would think you cared for him, if such a thing were possible." The question in his words hung between them.

"It's possible that I do." she replied.

His eyes widened. "Truly care for him, Tauriel? I can see you might have some affection," he grimaced a little as he said the word, "but is it possible you actually love this, this dwarf?"

"Legolas. I didn't choose this path. It may have started as amusement, friendship perhaps, affection even but. . ." she winced as she looked at the expression on his face but continued "I know it is more than that. I cannot imagine a world without him in it. I see his face and his smile when he is not near me. I would not want to be in a world where he is not."

"But Tauriel! He is mortal! There will come a day when this world will be without him." Legolas said.

Tauriel closed her eyes briefly. "I know that, mellon. Even more reason for me to spend what time we have together, if we can." She realized as she spoke the words that she really meant them. She hadn't thought this all through as she followed the orc pack or as she healed Kili or last night on the boat. There had been too much going on, too many distractions. But as she said the words to Legolas she realised how right they were. She recognized that Kili had already come to that conclusion when he gave her the runestone. He would come back to her.

"I would have given up everything, Tauriel, for you to say such things about me." Legolas said, his eyes dark and hurt.

"That would have been wrong, mellon-nin. You should never have had to think about giving anything up for me. Especially not your kingdom." She moved closer to him now. "I have found something unexpected and I cannot change that. I needed to tell you this. You are my closest friend in this world. Hard as this path may be, it is my path now and I follow it willingly. I do not know when or even if I will see Kili again but I hold to the hope that I will someday."

Legolas sighed and placed a hand gently on her arm. "Tauriel, you have chosen a path I would not wish on anyone. I fear you will encounter much difficulty and sadness on it and I would spare you that if I could." He paused, took a deep breath and continued, his eyes on hers again. "I will travel it with you, as far as I can, as much as you will allow me and I will not hinder you in any way."

"Legolas, I could not ask that of you."

"You do not ask. I choose my path, Tauriel. And for now, at least let our paths travel together. We must return to the Greenwood. My father will have harsh words for you, but it is still your home."

"My path may take me to the mountain someday, Legolas." Tauriel said.

"It may. I can't imagine your dwarf will have an easy time on this path either, judging by his uncle." Legolas replied.

"I fear that is one thing his uncle and King Thranduil will actually agree on." Tauriel said.

"Come now, Tauriel. We have lingered long enough. We must ride to the King. Tidings of the orcs I followed and the dragon's end must reach my father as soon as possible." Legolas said, whistling now for Siliviren.

"What do you know?" Tauriel asked.

"Nothing for certain. It's what I fear may come."

"You saw something out there?"

"The orc I pursued out of Laketown, I know who he is. Bolg, spawn of Azog. A warg pack was waiting for him on the outskirts of town. They fled into the north. These orcs were different from the others. They bore a mark not seen for a long time. The mark of Gundabad." Legolas said.

"Gundabad," repeated Tauriel.

"The orc stronghold, in the far north of the Misty Mountains." He turned to face her. "Those orcs rode towards Gundabad, Tauriel. My father must know that. We must send scouts. It does not bode well to have Gundabad occupied again."

Siliviren cantered near them and Legolas greeted her as she brushed her nose into his shoulder and bumped him affectionately. As he made to mount the horse he turned his head to see an approaching rider. Tauriel followed his gaze, suprised to see Feren heading toward them on horseback.

"My Lord Legolas!" Feren called to him. "I bring word from the King. You are to return to him immediately."

Legolas nodded. "That is where I am bound, Feren." He looked at Tauriel. "Come, Tauriel."

"My Lord," said Feren. "Tauriel is banished."

"Banished?" Legolas repeated, a cold look coming into his eyes at Feren's words. "You may tell my father if there is no place for Tauriel then there is no place for me."

Tauriel brushed Legolas' arm with her hand. "Legolas, it is your King's command."

He looked at her. "Yes, he is my King but he does not command my heart." he said to Tauriel. He turned back to Feren. "You may tell my father I ride north. I have suspicion that Gundabad is occupied again and I would know more on that account. These are tidings he must hear, Feren. I fear for the Greenwood if the hordes of Gundabad rise again." He narrowed his eyes at Feren. "You should also tell him that Smaug is no more. There is much devastation in Laketown. But I suppose you may have noticed that as you rode in, Feren?" He turned away from his father's messenger to Tauriel "I ride north. Will you come with me, Tauriel?"

"To where?" she asked.

"To Gundabad," he replied. "It seems my path has changed as well. Shall we keep company on this path and see what this orc filth is up to in Gundabad?"

"I will come with you." Tauriel replied.


	20. Chapter 20

They rode north, each caught up in their own thoughts. Tauriel had expected Thranduil to be angry. She had abandoned her post and brought her prince to danger. She had expected anger, harsh words, demotion even. But somehow banishment had never even come into her thoughts. Cast out of not only the Guard but the forest that had been her home for her entire life.

Legolas knew his father was angry. Tauriel had breached protocol and there would be consequences. But he had also. He fully expected there would be a price to pay for her and for himself. He had just not expected this outcome. He was sure Thranduil knew this banishment was a punishment not only for Tauriel but for his son as well.

He was still reeling from the revelation that she was not just fascinated or infatuated with this dwarf but that she thought she was truly in love with him. Was that even possible? Could an elf bond with a dwarf? He winced at the thought. Better not follow that line of thinking, it would only increase his agitation and prove a distraction.

Tauriel was stubborn. He knew she would not back down if her heart was in it. It seemed her dwarf felt the same way. Legolas doubted he would fare any better when he told Thorin. It didn't look like Tauriel would have a place in Eryn Galen or in Erebor.

Tauriel's thoughts were running a parallel course. She knew the Greenwood was closed to her now but she had a feeling Erebor would prove no more welcoming. Lothlorien or Imladris would welcome a warrior with her skills but that would take her far from Kili. She thought back to her morning in Laketown. Perhaps she could find a place there? It would be close enough to Erebor and there would be plenty to keep her busy as the town was rebuilt. It was at least an option she reasoned.

She felt Legolas wince in front of her and knew his thoughts were troubled also. A rift with his father would lay heavily on him. She had not meant for it to come to this. She had let her heart lead, not her head and he would be paying a price as well.

They were nearing the mountains now. Legolas slowed Siliviren and brought the horse to a halt. He slid off silently and motioned Tauriel to dismount. "We continue on foot now," he whispered, motioning towards the towering crags ahead. He spoke very softly to the horse and stroked her side before moving away.

Tauriel followed him to the mountain. He gripped the rock surface and began to climb the sheer wall of rock, Tauriel tracking where he found handgrips and toeholds so she could keep up.

They reached a summit and crouched behind an outcropping that screened them from the mountains beyond. "Gundabad," Tauriel breathed. "What lies beyond?"

"An old enemy. The ancient kingdom of Angmar. This fortress was once it's stronghold. It is where they kept their great armories. Forged their weapons of war."

Tauriel looked at the mountain fortress ahead of them, built into the very mountain itself. "A light!" she said, "I saw a light."

"We wait until the cover of night. It is a fell place, Tauriel. In another age our people waged war on those lands." He looked away, then spoke again. "My mother died there."

Tauriel's eyes widened. She had never heard Legolas speak of his mother in all the years she had known him. No one spoke of the Queen. Tauriel had learned that as a child years ago. Even the usual palace gossips had refused to mention the Queen. Tauriel had assumed she was dead but had not realized she had fallen in battle. She reached out and laid her hand over Legolas'.

"My father does not speak of it," he continued. "There is no grave, no memory. Nothing."

"Nothing?" Tauriel asked.

He shook his head. "I was very young. Too young to remember much more than a gentle voice, a lovely face and strong arms around me." He looked down, momentarily lost in his thoughts. He looked up at her again, "She was a Silvan, like you." he said finally.

"A Silvan?"

"She was a member of the Palace Guard," Legolas said, with a slight smile. "Like you." He squeezed her hand. "That's how my father met her. My grandfather was against the match. He wanted Adar to marry another Sindar or one of Cirdan's people from the Havens." He looked in the distance at the fortress ahead of them. "Adar refused any other. He would marry my mother." He gave Tauriel another half smile. "He defied Oropher and bonded with my mother."

"Oh Legolas." Tauriel said. "I did not know."

"There was no way you would know. No one speaks of it. It took me many years to get the full story. If it even is the full story." He looked away from her. "She died here. She would not give up being a warrior. She would not let my father go to war without her. I think that is why he could not say no to you joining the Guard. You reminded him of her and it gave him some joy to indulge you, I think." His face clouded over and his eyes narrowed. "Perhaps too much reminded when he saw how my feelings for you grew."

"I am so sorry, Legolas. I had not realized how much sorrow you and my King had in your past." Tauriel said.

They held hands in the silence that followed, eyes on the fortress as the light grew low in the west.

"If we are going in we should move now," Tauriel said to Legolas. The words were scarcely out of her mouth when a cloud of bats flew near their hiding place, screeching and flapping their wings. "They are swarming!" she said.

"These bats are bred for one purpose," Legolas said, as he watched them gathering and circling over the fortress ahead.

"What?" she asked.

"For war. Spies and carrion filth," he answered. His eyes widened as he now saw the pale orc from Laketown come out of the fortifications, mounted on a warg. Tauriel's eyes followed Legolas' gaze. "Bolg comes," he said to Tauriel.

The pale orc roared and Tauriel watched in shock as a vast army of orcs followed him out of the stronghold. Horns sounding, thousands of orcs began to march in their direction. Legolas gripped her arm. "We must warn the others. We may be too late. Hurry!" He pulled her away from the ledge and down the mountain.

"That was the orc I followed from Laketown," he said as they reached Siliviren and he quickly leapt on her back, pulling Tauriel up behind him. Legolas leaned forward to speak to the horse and she galloped away from Gundabad. "They did not give up the chase. They have those dwarves where they want them. They will descend on Erebor. He did not give up the chase-he comes now to annihilate them," he said to her.

"Laketown," Tauriel said. "They are out in the open with no shelter, no weapons. . ." she trailed off.

"We ride to Laketown," Legolas said. "We must warn them and send word to my father. Eryn Galen will not be safe from them." He leaned down to the horse again and their pace sped up even further.

They thundered into the ruins of Dale, having found the lakeshore abandoned on their return. An orc army was ranged in the plain between Dale and Erebor. "There is an orc army here already, Tauriel!" Legolas said, as they galloped through the streets of Dale. "It is not the one from Gundabad!" He looked down on the plain. "There is an army of dwarves down there and our warriors of Eryn Galen!"

Legolas spied a familiar figure as they rode. "Mithrandir!" he called.

"Legolas Greenleaf!" the wizard responded, rushing towards them, as Legolas halted Siliviren and slid off to stand in front of Gandalf.

"There is a second army. Bolg leads a force of Gundabad orcs! They are almost upon us," Legolas told him. Tauriel dismounted and joined Legolas by the wizard.

"Gundabad," said Gandalf. "This was their plan all along." He fixed Legolas with a piercing look."Azog engages our forces then Bolg sweeps in from the north."

"Where is the north?" asked a new voice, coming from near Gandalf's waist. Legolas' eyes widened in shock as he saw a small figure next to Gandalf.

"A halfling?" he whispered to himself, as Tauriel caught sight of Bilbo as well.

"Where is the north exactly?" the hobbit asked again.

"Towards Ravenhill," Gandalf said, turning away to look that way.

"Ravenhill," Bilbo repeated. "Thorin! Thorin is up there!" he said turning to follow Gandalf. "And Fili and Kili-they're all up there."

Tauriel turned at the sound of Kili's name, following Gandalf with her eyes to look at the hill ahead. Ravenhill.

A horn sounded. Both Legolas and Gandalf turned at the sound. Tauriel knew that horn. It was Thranduil recalling the Elven army. Gandalf turned away from them, running down a cobbled stone street towards the sound. "Come Tauriel," said Legolas, racing after the wizard. "The King is here."

Bilbo, forgotten, scurried after them.

They came upon Thranduil, in a courtyard littered with the bodies of dead Elves. "My lord," Gandalf thundered "Dispatch your force to Ravenhill. The Dwarves are about to be overrun. A force from Gundabad comes from the north. Thorin must be warned."

"By all means, warn him." Thranduil swept by Gandalf. "I have spent enough Elvish blood in defense of this accursed land. No more."

"Thranduil!" Gandalf called after him.

Thranduil stalked away, amidst the dead Elves at his feet. How had he ended up in this situation? He had said, after the Last Alliance, that he would spill no more of the blood of Eryn Galen for any purpose other than the defense of Eryn Galen. He had turned away from the desolation of Smaug to avoid losing Elven lives to the wrath of the dragon. Yet here he was again, his warriors brought down by orcs, littering the ground around him. Again. Wasn't it enough that he battled in his own dominion every day against that darkness? That Elven lives were lost in the shadows of the old fortress of Amon Lanc, Dol Guldur, as it was known now. No more. No more blood would spill for this cause. His warriors would fight for their own safety, their own forest. He could not spare them for this. How would they hold off the darkness of Eryn Galen if they died here?

He looked up to see Tauriel standing ahead of him. Tauriel. Who had disobeyed his orders to chase after those dwarves. She had convinced his son to join her in that folly. He had ordered her banished from his realm. She had betrayed him and the dead around him.

"You will go no further," Tauriel said to him. "You will not turn away, not this time."

"Get out of my way," he growled.

"The dwarves will be slaughtered," Tauriel said. "The people of Laketown."

"Yes, they will die. Today. . .tomorrow. . .one year hence. A hundred years from now. What does it matter? They are mortal. I will not spend one more Elven life for them."

"You think your life is worth more. . . Elven lives are worth more? There is no love in you." Tauriel said.

"What do you know of love?" Thranduil spat. "Nothing. What you think you feel for that dwarf? Don't deny it-I saw it when I interrogated that orc. Why else would you chase after him? What you feel for him? You think it is love? Are you ready to die for it?" He towered over her, glaring down at her face.

What did she know. A few weeks of infatuation. He had lived thousands of years and had loved his Queen for almost all of them. She had died for love. To keep him alive. So that he could keep their son and realm safe. He smoldered with anger that this elf would dare speak to him of love.

"You will not harm her," the voice of his son cut through his memories. Legolas had materialized at his side and was stepping between Thranduil and Tauriel. "You will not harm her, " he repeated, his eyes like ice as he met his father's. "This is our fight. I will not turn away."

Legolas turned to Tauriel. "I heard what the halfling said. I will go to Ravenhill with you." He pulled Tauriel and turned away from Thranduil, without a backward glance.


	21. Chapter 21

Tauriel crawled up the rocks to where she had last seen Kili, before Bolg had thrown her down the mountain. Her hands were raw and bloody-cuts, scrapes and wounds on her face, her arms, her back.

He lay on the flat, cold stone. She stumbled, ran to him and fell to the ground next to him. "Kili!" she cried, her hands touching his face, feeling for a pulse in his neck, gasping as she saw the wound in his chest. It was still oozing blood. His face was still and cold but he must still be alive. She could feel a fluttering pulse. Blood was still flowing from the wound. He must still live. She ripped his tunic and wadded up the cloth, pressing it to his chest to slow the flow of blood.

"Kili," she murmured, "Kili. I'm here. It's Tauriel." She gripped his hand and kept the pressure on the wound with her other hand. Her tears were falling on his face and all was blurred. She felt a flicker of movement from his fingers. "Kili!" she said in a louder voice. "Oh please, melamin, mela en' coiamin, stay with me." His fingers flickered again.

"What grace is given me, let it pass to him, let him be spared," she murmured the healing words, knowing with no athelas they were simply that, words. She rested her forehead on his and thought she felt a slight breath. She drew back, staring into his face. "What grace is given to me, let it pass to him, let him be spared." She repeated the words over and over like a prayer. The great wound still oozed, even as she pressed the cloth into it. She held it there, pressing even harder, leaning over his face. She could swear his eyelids flickered.

"Melamin," she whispered again and bent down to kiss his forehead. She heard a faint sigh, too close to be the wind. She touched his face with her hand and felt her heart thud in her chest as his eyes did flicker this time, no doubt about it. "Kili," she pleaded. His eyes opened briefly, then closed again, then opened one more time, unfocused, staring up at the sky. "My love," she said. "I am here." She stroked the hair on his forehead.

His eyes found her. She was drawn into their deep, brown depth. She had thought she would never see those eyes again. "Tauriel," he breathed, scarcely a whisper. "Amralime." He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, fully focused on her now. His eyes were warm and strong, just as she remembered them.

"You found me yet again," he whispered. "But even you cannot save me this time." A slight smile shadowed his lips.

"Kili, hold on, there are healers, there is a wizard here, just hold on a little longer, my love." she begged.

"Tauriel, think of me when you walk in starlight." He took a shuddering breath, closed his eyes. She gripped his hand harder, leaning in. He spoke again as he opened his eyes to meet hers again. "I go now to the Halls of Waiting to sit beside my father and my brother until this world is renewed."

"Kili, no." She leaned down, her lips on his, kissing him. She felt his lips move lightly on hers and then she drew back to look into his eyes again. The light was fading from them.

"It was a lovely dream, amralime. I will dream it still, waiting to see you again." His voice faded to a sigh and his eyes closed. They would not open again.

"No! NO! Kili, by the Valar, do not leave me, my love." She dropped her head to his chest, weeping. "Do not leave me forever without you." She held his body as the snow fell on them and around them, his body growing colder. No blood flowed from the wound anymore and the snowflakes didn't melt on his face. She held his hand and rocked back and forth, murmuring to him in Sindarin, occasionally bending down to kiss his cold forehead or his still lips.

This was how Legolas found her, as he searched the ruined tower where he had seen her last.

"Tauriel," he said quietly as he neared her, going down on one knee to the other side of Kili. She raised her tear-streaked face to him and he caught his breath. The light had gone out of her eyes. Not even when he had found her as a child, lone survivor of an orc raid, had she looked so bereft, despairing and alone. There had been fear in her eyes then. Now there was simply emptiness.

She turned back to look down at her dwarf-Kili, he reminded himself-remembering hearing her calling his name. Legolas reached over to stroke her hair gently. "I am so sorry, Tauriel."

"They will come for him, Legolas. They will want to bury him in that mountain of theirs," she looked at Legolas with her lifeless eyes. "How can I let them take him where the moon and stars don't shine on him anymore? How can I?"

"It is their custom, mellon," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "It is their way to show honor and respect. You must let them honor him as they would. He is their prince, after all."

"When he is buried under the mountain, Legolas, what is left in this world for me without him? No home, no family, no love, no life."

"You have a home with me always, Tauriel, no matter what my father wills." Legolas said.

She looked down at Kili, holding his hand to her chest. "Thank you, mellon, but I cannot. The Woodland Realm holds nothing for me anymore save your friendship. I cannot bring strife between you and your father again. I will see Kili to his resting place. I cannot see the path for me beyond that yet."

He was silent for a few moments then spoke to her again. "There is much of our world we do not know, Tauriel. It is time I learned of it. You could come with me?" he asked, in a more tentative voice than she had ever heard him use. She looked at him and the tears streaming down her face now were as much for him as for Kili.

"You would leave the Woodland Realm? Legolas, no, you cannot leave your father like this."

"You said we are part of this world, Tauriel. I think it is time I see what is beyond Eryn Galen. It is most dear to me but perhaps it is not the only realm worth fighting for." His hand was still on her shoulder and he tightened his hold. "You could come with me?" he repeated.

She shook her head. "Once I might have gone with you," she said. "But now. . . I will see him put to rest, Legolas. He is my world and I do not know what will become of me without him."

Legolas stood and came around to her side. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, his hands squeezing her shoulders. "If you ever have need of me, Tauriel. . ." he began.

She looked up at him and nodded. "I know, mellon. I will remember."

He nodded back at her, turned and walked into the cavern nearby, to make his way down Ravenhill.

Thranduil was in the cavern, ascending to where Legolas was. "Legolas," he said, as he saw his son. "Are you injured?" Thranduil clasped his son's arms tightly, his eyes fixed on his face.

"I am not." Legolas replied. Thranduil tilted his head forward to briefly touch his forehead to his son's and closed his eyes,

"I am relieved, ion-nin. There has been much devastation this day." Thranduil opened his eyes to meet his son's gaze. There was sorrow there and Thranduil asked quietly "And Tauriel?"

"She lives." Legolas said shortly, attempting to step back but Thranduil still gripped his arms. "Kili-the dwarf she followed-he is dead."

"As is Thorin Oakenshield," Thranduil responded. "And so very many more." Legolas did not reply, looking away now from Thranduil. Thranduil felt the tension in Legolas' arms and he released his hold on his son. "I will rescind her banishment, Legolas, but not her removal from the Guard," he said, finally. "She may come home."

Legolas inclined his head in acknowledgement but did not speak.

"I will leave healers here with the wounded. I must make our peace with the dwarves and the men of Laketown." Thranduil continued. "Then we must return home as well."

"I cannot go back with you." Legolas said evenly.

"Cannot go back? But it is your home, ion-nin."

"I cannot stay. I cannot watch her diminish and fade. Elves leave these shores three ways, Ada. They sail, they are killed, as mother was, or they lose all will for life from insurmountable grief and then they fade. I will not watch Tauriel fade."

"Where will you go?" Thranduil asked.

"I do not know. Far from here and all that reminds me of her." Legolas replied.

Thranduil reached out to his son, placing a hand on his forearm again, gently this time. "Go to Imladris and seek Elrond. He knows much of healing, broken bodies, as you well know, but also broken spirits." Thranduil paused, looking thoughtfully at his son. It had been many years since Legolas had come of age but Thranduil had never seen him look so stern. He was reminded of his father, Oropher, suddenly. The look of determination on his face, eternally youthful, yet not young anymore. "You should find the Dunedain. The Rangers of the North. They would do well to know the threat of Gundabad. It affects them greatly."

"Why the Dunedain?" Legolas asked.

"Elrond will tell you more of them. There is strength in those men still." Thranduil said. "I have known them through the ages. Perhaps there is greatness yet to come from their line."

Legolas put his hand over his heart and bowed his head to his father. Thranduil spoke as Legolas turned away from him. "Your mother loved you, Legolas. More than anyone, more than life itself." Legolas turned back at those words. "Come back to me, ion-nin. When you are ready." Legolas met Thranduil's eyes, nodded once and then left.

Thranduil drew in a deep breath. He didn't think his son truly believed him. But she had loved her son enough to give her own life to keep Thranduil alive, so that the realm would have a king and their son would have a father who could keep him safe.

Thranduil walked out on to the ledge his son had just left to find Tauriel, crying over the body of the dwarf.

"They want to bury him," she said to him, much as she had said to Legolas before.

"Yes," Thranduil replied. He saw the same devastation in her that his son had seen and tears came to his eyes as well.

"If this is love I do not want it. Take it from me, please. Why does it hurt so much?" Tauriel looked at Thranduil, tears tracking down her face.

"Because it was real," Thranduil replied, coming to stand near her. She bent over and kissed the dwarf on the lips, with no concern that Thranduil was watching. He had been wrong, it seemed. He had not thought an elf could love a dwarf this way but he knew what she was feeling. He had felt that himself. "I cannot take it away from you, Tauriel. Not even his death can take it away from you." He spoke softly. "It is the greatest gift we have and the most excruciating torture all at once."

"How can I face the days ahead without him? Our gift from the Valar is life eternal. How can I spend an eternity in grief? It is a curse to me now that I have not died with him. But even if I were dead we are forever sundered. I cannot go where he is now." Tauriel said.

Thranduil looked down at her with pity now. "I know this grief, Tauriel. I know it well. The memory lives forever in my heart but the pain and loneliness do not fade easily." He drew nearer and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I revoke the banishment, Tauriel. You will always have a home amongst the Elves of Eryn Galen."

She did not look up from Kili's body. "My home was in his arms," she said. "I have no other now that he is gone."

Thranduil bowed his head. "I leave you with your grief, Tauriel. Do not let it destroy you." He turned and left the ledge.

Tauriel did not know how long she sat with him, the snow continuing to fall on them. She brushed it off his cold face, holding his hand to her chest, saying all that she had not said to him in life. She had placed the runestone in his hand and clasped her hand around his cold fingers.

She heard voices but did not look up. She did not care who approached, who saw, who spoke to her. The voices were closer now and she recognized them. Oin and Bofur.

"He said up here, Oin," Bofur said. "On the ledge,he said." Footsteps sounded and then abruptly stopped. "Oh," said Bofur sharply. "Oh lass. He is gone then too?"

Oin hurried over and knelt at Kili's side, reaching out to touch for a pulse in his neck, his eyes urgently looking to Tauriel. " The Elven medicine," he stammered.

She shook her head and pulled the wadded up cloth from his wound. Oin sucked in his breath and laid his hand on Kili's forehead gently. "So passes the last of the line of Thorin Oakenshield," he said solemnly.

Bofur knelt next to Tauriel. "Are you hurt, lass? There's blood all over you." She shook her head at him, as Oin looked at her anxiously now. She shook her head again.

"He's not been gone long, lass," Oin said. "Have you been with him the whole time?"

She nodded and whispered "I reached him before. . .before he. . . before he died," she finally managed to say. She turned her face to Oin, who saw the despair in her eyes full-on now. "There was nothing I could do." She repeated it in a louder voice. "Nothing I could do." Her voice shook.

Bofur reached his arm around her in an awkward hug as Oin reached out and patted the hand that held Kili's still. "You did all you could," Oin said kindly. "No one could have done more. I know that. I've seen your skill, lass. If you couldn't save him nothing could. He is with Thorin and Fili now, in the Halls of Mahal."

They sat in silence for a few moments then Bofur hesitantly spoke to Tauriel again. "Lass, we must take him down. To take him back to the mountain. With Thorin and Fili."

She looked up and saw that there were other dwarves gathered near, a stretcher to bear Kili waiting.

"You need to let him go, lass," Oin said gently. "He cannot stay here among this orc filth."

Tauriel took a deep breath, leaned down to kiss Kili's cold lips one last time. She kissed his hand next and slowly stood, clenching his runestone in her right hand.

The dwarves moved over to the body and placed Kili on the stretcher. Bofur patted her arm and followed the stretcher as the dwarves took Kili from the ledge. Oin looked up at her and touched her hand. "Will you come down with us, Tauriel? To take him home?"

She closed her eyes. Oin was right. Kili had said that even though he was born in the Blue Mountains, Erebor was his home. Now it would be forever. Tauriel nodded at Oin and walked after him down Ravenhill and on to the path that led to the Lonely Mountain.

Melamin: my love

mela en'coiamin: love of my life


	22. Chapter 22

The plain was a mass of bodies, tents and medic stations, people collecting bodies, tending wounded, piling orc corpses to the side to be burned later.

A path cleared itself for Kili's stretcher and Tauriel followed behind with Oin, oblivous to the curious looks of the men, elves and dwarves who watched the procession move toward the mountain. They entered the ruined front gate of Erebor and made their way to the Great Hall. Tauriel could see a platform with biers, two already occupied by bodies. A third was being set up as they approached.

Dwarves were everywhere around her. She kept pace with Oin, following the stretcher as it moved toward the platform. She stopped at the foot of it. Oin looked up at her. "He's home now, lass. Fili and Thorin are waiting for him." She nodded, her eyes on Kili's stretcher.

"A sorry day for us all, lass," said a voice at her elbow. She looked down to see Balin. "It's victory but the price was too high," he sighed, looking over to the platform.

"You have your mountain, but not your King," she replied.

"Aye, we've got the mountain back. But I'd rather we had stayed in Ered Luin and Thorin and the lads yet lived." Balin shook his head. "Dain is King under the Mountain now." He sighed. "There are some of your folk around here somewhere. They brought Fili to us and some of your Elven healers are hereabouts doing what they can. Shall you join them?"

She shook her head. "I am here for Kili, Balin. No other purpose." Balin looked puzzled and shot a glance at Oin, who raised his eyebrows and tilted his head at Tauriel meaningfully.

"Oh, aye, then. I'll let you be. We've a funeral to set up and a feast of victory to plan. You are welcome to stay for both. Shall you come to the medics at least? You look like you've taken some damage." Balin eyed her blood-stained tunic. Oin shook his head at Balin again and Balin, exasperated at the mystery, turned to Tauriel. "You'll have to excuse me a moment, I'll be right back, lass."

He marched over to Oin, grabbed him by the arm and walked a few paces away. "What is with the looks, Oin. I can't be reading your mind. What are you at?" Balin asked quietly.

"Eh?" said Oin, patting his pockets for his ear trumpet. He found it, glanced in Tauriel's direction and then pulled Balin further away, behind a column.

Tauriel kept her eyes on the platform. She knew Balin was perplexed by her presence here. He wouldn't be the first or last to be, she knew. Kili was now being placed to the left of Thorin as she watched.

"All right then, Oin! What's all this Elf business?" Balin grumbled.

"She was with the lad when he died, Balin. With all the misery here the last few days, he hadn't had a chance to tell Thorin or any of you about the Elf-maid."

"Tell us what about the Elf-maid?" Balin asked gruffly.

"Kili had fallen in love with her, Balin. And she with him. She came to Laketown and she's the one that saved him from that poisoned orc wound, not me. Saved us from a pack of orcs as well, and rescued us from the destruction of Laketown. We'd not be here without her." Oin paused and glanced in Tauriel's direction. He took a deep breath. "He'd pledged himself to her, Balin. He had Fili take the bride oath for her."

"What?" Balin sputtered. "The bride oath? For an Elf?"

"Aye, I saw it with my own eyes, Balin. If anyone could have kept that lad alive it would have been her. He died in her arms. And from the looks of her I think she wishes she'd died with him." He gave Tauriel another sidelong look then looked back at Balin. "You can't send her away from him until he's done and buried, Balin. She's grieving hard."

"I had no idea." Balin said. "The poor lad." He shook his head. "The poor lass." He looked sharply at Oin. "Dain isn't going to like this one bit. He's not going to want her hanging about. You know how he is about Elves."

"That's why I'm telling you this! I can't rightly tell Dain about them, there's no knowing what he'd do or say to her." Oin leaned closer to Balin. "She saved Kili's life three times before this, Balin. That's got to count for something."

"I've got an idea, Oin." Balin furrowed his brow. "Bard is here somewhere. He and Dain were meeting with the Elven King. Let me find him and Dwalin. We need an honor guard for these bodies. I'll see if I can get the elf-maid as part of it." He patted Oin on the arm. "Keep someone near her so Dain doesn't find her wandering about."

"Aye, I'll see if Bofur is still around." Oin answered. "I've got to check in with the other healers."

Balin left in search of Bard and Oin moved towards the platform. He had spotted Bofur. Tauriel's height and red hair made her hard to miss. Oin didn't see Dain's distinctive hair color anywhere near as he crossed to Bofur.

"Bofur!" he called. Bofur turned away from the dwarves he was directing, who had just finished placing Kili on a bier on the platform and he stepped down to Oin.

"What ails you, Oin?"

"You've got to keep an eye on the lass. Balin is working on a way to have her stay for the funeral but in the meantime I want a friendly face near her-to keep her from wandering and to keep the meddlers away from her. Can you manage it?" Oin said.

"Oh aye, I'll manage it." Bofur touched his cap and headed towards Tauriel.

She stood where they had left her, tall and shoulders straight, staring at Kili's still form.

"Lass, you'll want to be getting some rest or a bit of food and drink?" Bofur asked her kindly, as he reached her.

"No, Bofur, I've no need."

"I'm sorry, lass. I know you cared for the lad." Bofur said gently. "It's a hard blow for us, losing all three. I don't envy the messenger who takes this news to Dis."

"Who is Dis?" Tauriel asked.

"Why Dis is Thorin's sister! Fili and Kili's mother." He shuddered. "I can't imagine how she's going to take this news. She didn't want Thorin taking the boys on this quest."

"She is in Ered Luin?" Tauriel asked.

"Aye. Thorin was to send word for her to come if we secured the mountain. This was her home too." He shook his head and lowered his voice. "She's none too fond of Dain," he confided, with a meaningful look. "His being on the throne is not going to make this any easier for her. I wouldn't be surprised if she found a way to Mahal's Halls to give Thorin a piece of her mind about all this."

Tauriel gave him a questioning look. "Are those the Halls of Waiting?" she asked.

"Why yes. Dwarves pass into the west. Not sure where the men end up but we dwarves pass through the Halls of Mandos to the Halls Mahal has prepared for us, waiting for the world to be renewed after the last battle. You Elves go west to Mandos' Halls as well, as I recall."

"Yes, we go there when we meet our death here. We go to the Halls of Mandos."

"I thought it was some such," he replied, glad he got a subject that kept her talking. He'd never seen an Elf look like she did-no color to her face and her eyes all dim and flat. There was a tension to her that made him uneasy. He tried to think of something more to say. He wasn't often at a loss for words but his mind was racing to try to think of something.

"You don't have to keep talking, Bofur," Tauriel said kindly, sensing his unease. "I know what you are trying to do and I thank you for it." She looked down at him, her face tight and cold. "Just tell me what they are going to do with Kili."

Bofur shivered as he looked at her face. Bleak. He shook himself slightly and looked up at her to respond. "He'll lie in state with Thorin and Fili. Tonight will be for remembering the dead. Tales will be told, memories traded at the gathering. In the morning we will lay them to rest under the mountain."

He saw dread in her eyes at his words. He placed his hand on her arm gently. "Tauriel? Lass?"

"Do not make me go to the gathering, Bofur. I cannot." Tears were in her eyes and her arm was trembling under his now.

"Peace, lass. We will think of something," he said, patting her on the arm awkwardly.

Balin returned. "Tauriel," he said to her as he approached. She turned to look at him. Bofur gave him a wide eyed stare and shook his head slightly. Balin sighed. Were all his companions going to make faces at him instead of telling him what was going on?

Balin looked at Tauriel sharply. "You all right, lass?" he asked.

"I do not want to leave him, Balin. If there is a gathering please say I do not need to attend. Not today, not tonight." Her voice, usually so melodic, wavered with her words.

"Aye, I understand. Oin told me about you and the poor lad." Balin said. Tauriel froze and stared at him. "Don't look like that!" Balin admonished. "I've nothing to say against it. You've a kind heart and of all of us Kili saw it first and best." He narrowed his eyes at her. "I won't be having you go to something you have no heart for. I've spoken to Dwalin. We need an honor guard for Thorin, Fili and Kili during tonight's gathering and after. Dwalin will stay with Thorin. Bard has offered to stand for Fili and I thought," he paused and looked up at her and continued gently "I thought you might be willing to stand for Kili?"

Any color left in her face completely drained away at his words. "You would have an Elf stand guard?" she whispered.

"This was a battle of dwarves, men and Elves as allies. I can't think of a better way to honor that alliance and our dead than an honor guard of all three races. Will you do it, lass?"

Tauriel dropped to one knee before Balin and bowed her head. Tears glistened on her cheeks. "It would be my honor to do so, Balin."

"Aye, then it's settled. We'll have the three of you at the head of each bier and a secondary guard at the foot of the platform. It will be all night, lass, no rest until after the funeral in the morning."

She looked him eye to eye as she knelt. "I need no rest, Balin."

"Aye, I thought you'd say that." He looked at her sternly for a moment and reached for her hands. He gripped them tightly in his, leaned in and spoke very quietly, staring into her eyes intently. "We'll have to prepare the bodies for burial. It's not something I want you to have to see." She started to speak and he squeezed her hands hard. "Trust me on this. Let us do it. Come to my chambers while we do, or stay to guard the other two while we do it. I'd rather you keep your memories of him. You don't need to go through that." He gave her a stern look.

She took a deep breath and squeezed his hands back. "I will stay with Fili when it is time for you to take Kili. I owe him that at least. He was very kind to me."

Balin nodded. "I'd give you a chance to clean up but we've got nothing for you to change into so I think what you have will just have to do." He grimaced at her tunic. "I'll just take you to Dwalin then. We'll likely tend to Thorin first. You'll have some time before we take the lad."

She stood up slowly, nodded to Balin and Bofur and followed Balin towards the platform. She could see Dwalin standing, glowering, by Thorin's head. He looked at her briefly, nodded and turned his gaze back to Thorin. She walked to Kili, briefly traced her fingers along his arm as she moved to stand at the head of his bier. She glanced to the side and saw Bard moving into position on the far side of Dwalin, at Fili's head. He nodded to Dwalin and then to her.

She looked down at Kili in front of her and clenched her jaw. This was no time for tears. She owed him more strength than that. She gripped her knife handle at her waist and steadied her breathing. His runestone was still clenched in her other hand. Kili's face was pale and a coverlet lay over his body, covering the chest wound now. He could have been resting, as he had the night she healed him. She had known how close to death he had been that night. She had expected to find him dead, in truth. Finding him alive had made her truly realize how much she had grown to care for him in those two weeks he had spent as a prisoner in the Woodland Realm. He had said she made him feel alive. She could say much the same for how he made her feel. The world had felt new again with him in it.

As a young Elf in the Woodland Realm she had never really had her years feel long. Tonight the weight of those years felt heavy and the thought of an eternity ahead was downright unbearable. She thought again of how it would have been had Bolg killed her and she had not survived to watch Kili die.

But. . .but those last few moments together would not have happened if Bolg had killed her. She frowned down at Kili. It was unbearable to imagine never seeing him again but it was just as unthinkable to erase those last moments together.

Better to have those few moments, she decided. The looming eternity ahead of her did not bear contemplation though. She shook her head. Enough. Her task was to guard her love and his kin. She had time to think of what would come tomorrow.


	23. Chapter 23

The hours passed. Tauriel maintained her position at the head of Kili's bier. A group of dwarves, led by Balin, approached Dwalin.

"Dwalin, we've come to get Thorin," Balin spoke to his brother.

"Aye, it's time," Dwalin responded.

The six dwarves gently moved Thorin's body on to a stretcher and moved towards a small chamber off to the right of the Great Hall. Dwalin looked briefly at Bard then fixed his gaze on Tauriel.

"I go with Thorin," he said gruffly. "You two stay here with the lads."

Bard nodded his head and Tauriel did the same. Dwalin followed Thorin's stretcher into the small chamber.

Tauriel maintained her position, looking down at Kili mostly but occasionally scanning the Great Hall around her. She saw movement again from the chamber doors and saw the dwarves bringing Thorin back. Dwalin moved back to his place at the head of Thorin's bier as Tauriel watched the dwarves place Thorin back on his bier. All the blood and dirt had been cleared from his face. His hair had been combed and rebraided, his torn and stained clothing removed, new clothing and armor in its place. A crown rested on his head.

His time as King under the Mountain had been brief. Tauriel recalled the proud dwarf who had been imprisoned in the Woodland Realm. It was hard to reconcile that with the one that lay before her. Had it only been a few days since he had escaped their cells?

The dwarves moved towards Fili now, moving him onto the stretcher. Bard took a step to follow Fili's body. Dwalin stepped in front of him and stopped him with his arm. "I'll be going with each of them," Dwalin said. "It's not your place or the Elf's to go." He turned and locked his eyes with Tauriel's.

"I will watch over Thorin while you are gone, " she said.

"Nay," said Bard. "My charge is away. I will keep the watch over him. You stay where you are with Kili. You can guard Thorin when it's Kili's turn to go." Bard stepped over to the head of Thorin's bier.

Dwalin nodded briefly to Bard and then followed Fili's procession through the hall.

After a few moments Bard cleared his throat and glanced at Tauriel. "I am sorry they are gone," he said to her quietly. "It could have ended so differently." He sighed. "It needn't have ended this way," he repeated, shaking his head.

Tauriel stared at him, feeling the tears starting in her eyes. She willed them away and gripped her knife handle again. She could not trust her voice to respond.

"I'm sorry," Bard said. "That's not likely what you are wanting to hear."

"It matters not what I want to hear," she said, keeping her voice steady. "What's done is done. We honor their memory now."

She turned and looked at Kili again. How many things could have been done differently. Those thoughts had been chasing through her mind over the last hours as she stood watch. What if she had gone to the mountain with Kili? What if the Elves and Men had not been about to attack Erebor when the enemy came? What is she had gotten to Ravenhill earlier?

She clenched her jaw. She could not permit herself to follow this line of thinking. She needed to be here for Kili now. He deserved that and she owed him her full attention. The darkness and doubt must wait. She took a few deep breaths to clear her mind and focused on him again.

Dwalin and the dwarves were returning with Fili. He looked as she remembered him from the trip to the gardens-his braids neat and orderly. His armor gleamed in the torchlight. Bard stepped back to the head of Fili's bier as the dwarves placed him back into position and he nodded at Dwalin.

The dwarves moved to Tauriel's side of the platform now to get Kili. She pressed her lips together tightly. He almost looked as if he were asleep as she watched him, as he had the night she had healed him in Laketown. But as the dwarves moved his too-still body that illusion faded.

She moved to the head of Thorin's bier, never taking her eyes off the procession that took Kili to the chamber until the door closed. Dwarves came and went at the periphery of the platform but the few elves and men that had been there earlier were gone. She looked down at Thorin. He had reclaimed Erebor for Durin's heirs but at what cost? Had it been enough for him to know Erebor was a dwarven kingdom again, even though he and his heirs would not live to rule there?

No. She stopped herself again. There was nothing to be gained by thinking this way. She willed her thoughts to still and scanned the room. Kili was returning. Balin climbed up the platform first, Kili's body on the stretcher behind him and Dwalin following, last of all.

She stepped back to the head of Kili's bier as they moved to place him back on it. Dwalin moved back to Thorin.

Kili had been cleaned, his clothing and armor changed. He looked peaceful, now that the blood and dirt had been removed. His hair still tumbled over his forehead, like it always did.

Balin stepped up to her as the other dwarves moved away. "You all right, lass?" he asked her. She nodded to him, then returned her gaze to Kili.

"The funeral and burial will be in the morning," he continued. "Are you up to watching him through the night?"

"I will be here as long as needed," Tauriel said.

"It will be a long night and an even longer day," he warned. "After the burial we will need to crown the next King under the Mountain." He gave her a meaningful look. "Then the victory feast will follow the coronation."

"I will stay with him until he is buried, if you allow me." Tauriel replied. "You will excuse me if I depart before the rest. I have no reason to stay for that."

"As you see fit, lass. I've a wee proposition to make before you make up your mind to go," he said, with a serious look. "I might need to ask a favor of you. I'll come back later tonight to talk more. I've things to get settled tonight to prepare for tomorrow." He nodded at her and then moved to speak to Bard.

She wondered what the dwarf wanted, then returned her mind to her watch and her memories.

The hours passed and the hall grew darker and quieter, as only a few torches burned around the platform. Tauriel, Bard and Dwalin remained at the head of each bier. Tauriel had noticed a contingent of dwarven guards had been placed on each side of the platfom shortly after Balin had left them.

She looked at Kili again and realized this was the first time she seen him with his hair neatly combed, clean and dressed in finery befitting his rank. She gave him a small smile, her eyes misting over. He looked stern and regal now but he still was the reckless dwarf who had her heart. She gave a small sigh.

"You all right there, lass?" Dwalin asked, his voice low and rough.

Tauriel turned her head to face him and nodded. "Memories are precious to Elves," she said slowly. "These from today will be . . .difficult," she finished.

His eyes met hers and he nodded. "Aye, " he said, his eyes softening for the first time that she could recall. "May their memories live long in our hearts and minds, even though it cuts like a knife." He looked down at Thorin again. "Thorin was my king and my kin," he said quietly, "The lads also." He paused. "I will serve Dain and remain to guard them and the Lonely Mountain for as long as I am given to live." He turned to look at Tauriel, his gaze direct and piercing. "I will watch over him when you go, lass. I know he cared for you and there is no doubting you felt the same. He'll be safe under the mountain, I promise you that."

Tauriel gazed at him in shock, her mouth open. Was this really Dwalin, who hated Elves as passionately as Thorin had? She recovered herself quickly and bowed her head to him. "Thank you, Dwalin. I can think of no other who would honor them more than you. I am at your service." She finished with a deep bow to him.

"Aye, and I am at yours, lass," he replied, bowing in return, then gazing at her fiercely. "I've never said that to an Elf before, mind you."

"I am most honored. " Tauriel answered.

"And we might not be here as we are if I had said it to one before today, " Dwalin muttered. "I didn't want Thorin to strike a bargain with your King, as Balin counseled." He glared at Tauriel now. "But things might have ended better had we done so," he growled.

"None of us can change the past, Dwalin." Tauriel said to him. "Perhaps we shall understand each other a little better now?"

"Aye. We must not fight amongst ourselves-Elves, Dwarves and Men-when we have a common enemy who glories in that strife." He looked down at Thorin again, as Tauriel nodded silently at his words.

The shadows deepened and the torches flickered as the hours passed. Tauriel noticed some movement at the platform's edge. Balin had returned. He climbed up and approached them, moving to Dwalin first. They spoke quietly in their language. Dwalin placed his hand on Balin's shoulder and nodded. Balin walked over to Bard and spoke to him briefly, before coming to Tauriel's side.

"The Company of Thorin Oakenshield will be coming to pay their respects privately, before morning, before Dain and the rest come," he said to her. Tauriel nodded and Balin continued. "I'll take a moment with you lass before they come."

"What can I do for you, Balin?" Tauriel asked.

He sighed. "There is a task to be done as soon as we finish with the formalities tomorrow." His eyebrows drew together and he looked worried. "Someone has to tell Dis."

Dis. She had heard that name. "Dis," she repeated to Balin.

He gave her a sharp look. "Dis is Thorin's sister. Fili and Kili's mother."

Tauriel sucked in her breath. That was why the name was familiar. Bofur had said it when he was trying to make conversation with her earlier. She had not been concentrating on his words. Dis. Kili's mother. Tauriel touched the pocket where the runestone now rested. The one his mother had given him. His promise to return to her. The one he had given Tauriel as a promise. Tauriel had not thought about her. This was a triple loss-both sons and her brother in one day. Her family utterly obliterated.

Balin was still talking and she forced herself to pay attention to his words. "She's got to be told in person," Balin was saying. "I don't dare send a raven."

"What has this to do with me?" Tauriel asked, perplexed as to why he was telling her this.

"I've got to be the one to tell her. I must travel to the Blue Mountains once we lay them under the mountain and Dain is crowned." Balin said.

Tauriel touched the runestone once again and then suddenly realised. She had the runestone. His mother's runestone. She was going to have to give it to Balin to return to her. She clenched it in her fist and closed her eyes briefly. It was all she had of him. Other than her memories. She felt lightheaded for a moment then steadied herself. She did not want to take it out of her pocket but she made herself do it.

Balin was still talking but Tauriel knew she had missed much of what he had said. "Dwalin won't go. He fears no orcs or goblins but the thought of telling Dis unnerves him." Balin snorted. "Gloin and Oin will come with me but I was wondering. . ." He paused as she put out her hand with the runestone in it. "What's this?" he asked. "How do you have this? We didn't find it on him so I thought he'd lost it."

Tauriel closed her fingers over it briefly and met Balin's eyes. "Kili gave it to me when he left Laketown," she said.

Balin looked at her sharply. "Did he tell you what it was?" he asked.

Tauriel nodded. "He told me about it when you were prisoners in the Woodland Realm." A smile came to her face as she stared down at the runestone, remembering. She clenched it once again and then handed it to Balin. "Here. You should return it to her."

"He gave it to you, lass." Balin said, putting his hands behind his back and leaving the runestone in Tauriel's hand. "I won't take it from you. But it brings me to the favor I want to ask of you."

"What is it, Balin?"

"I was going to ask you to come with me, when I go tell Dis. You were with the lad when he died and I thought she'd want to know how it ended for him from someone who was there with him." He gazed at the stone in her hand. "I didn't know about the stone. That makes me think it would be best if you returned it to her yourself." He raised his eyebrows at her.

"You want me, an Elf, to accompany you to tell Thorin Oakenshield's sister that her sons and brother are dead?" Tauriel asked. "Balin, you can't be serious!"

"But I am," he said. "We've need of someone to get us through Mirkwood safely. You're familiar with the route, skilled with a bow and knife, which certainly wouldn't go amiss in the wild." He tilted his head and locked eyes with her. "Will you come?"

She shook her head. "Balin-she's not going to want to hear anything from an Elf. I know how Thorin felt about our kind. . ." her words trailed off.

"She's not Thorin," said Balin. "She's a mother who loved her sons and has lost them both. She'd want to speak to someone who cared for her son, who had saved her son and who shared his last moments. That's you. Elf's got nothing to do with it." He patted her hand gently. "So will you come?"

She gripped the runestone tightly. She had not known what she was going to do or where she was going to go after the funeral. She had not been able to think that far ahead. Despite Thranduil lifting her banishment she knew she could not return to the Woodland Realm. There was no place for her in Erebor. She did not know where she belonged anymore.

She felt a shiver of apprehension at meeting this unknown dwarven woman. She must be formidable indeed if she made Dwalin nervous. Balin was right though. Dis had suffered a grievious loss-her brother, her sons. It was to honor their memory that Tauriel would go and return the runestone to where it belonged.

She looked down at Balin. "I will accompany you to the Blue Mountains." She put the runestone back in her pocket.

"Well! That's settled then." he said brightly. "We will leave the day after tomorrow. I dare not leave before the coronation and victory feast. Dain would not take that well." He raised his eyebrows at Tauriel. "But Dain knows Dis well enough to know he must let me go do this and soon."

"Balin, I have no heart to stay for the coronation and victory feast." Tauriel said.

"Your King will be there for both, I hear." Balin replied.

"That may be but I will not."

"If you go to the Elven encampment I will find you there the morning after tomorrow." Balin said.

Tauriel shook her head. "I have no place in the Elven King's encampment any more, Balin."

Balin looked startled. "But lass, they are your people."

"I was banished for following you to Laketown," she explained. "The King has rescinded the banishment today but I do not belong there anymore. I will go with you to the Blue Mountains, Balin but I do not know my road after that. I may go to the Havens. I do not know." She paused and looked at Kili's still form. "There is nothing for me here anymore."

Balin patted her arm again. "You can stay here, lass. I'll find a spot for you to spend one night."

"Thank you, Balin," Tauriel said.

"Balin! Enough talking." Dwalin grumbled. "It will be morning soon." He glared at Balin now. "You've got to get the others before morning."

"Aye, aye." Balin said. "I've gone and kept talking at you, lass. We're settled then. Let me get the company and I'll be back before the funeral starts to tell you where to go after." He patted her hand again and left.

"I don't envy him this trip," Dwalin said. "That's a blow to any mother but Dis isn't any mother. She's of the line of Durin and Thorin's sister in blood and temperament, if you get my meaning." He sighed. "She didn't want the lads to go. She told Thorin they were too young. " He shook his head. "But they were both of age and warrior trained. She could have tied them up and they still would have found a way to go."


	24. Chapter 24

The dwarves of the Company approached, Balin leading them. They made their way up to the platform, their beards and hair braided and neat, their clothing somber and fine. The filed by one by one, to Kili first, laying a hand on an arm or speaking a few soft words Tauriel could hear. Words of farewell, words of respect and Bofur's whispered "I'll miss your laugh, lad," which made her catch her breath. Ori came last, just squeezing Kili's shoulder and closing his eyes briefly.

One by one, they moved to Thorin and did the same and then to Fili on the far side. When they finished they formed a line across the front of the platform, at the foot of the three biers, facing the bodies. They bowed and then slowly left the platform, each one moving to take the place of one of the guards that stood below.

Balin made his way back to Dwalin, Tauriel and Bard. "I will go bring Dain and his men now to do the same," he said. "The Company will stand guard and accompany the bodies under the mountain after the funeral. Dwalin, you will lead them down, with me. Bard, Tauriel, you will follow the Company." He looked at the dwarven guards who had been replaced by the members of the Company. "The guards will carry them down to the tombs." Bard and Tauriel nodded at Balin. "I go to bring Dain now. Morning comes." He left them, returning shortly with Dain and his men.

Dain was clad in gleaming armor, as were his companions. He looked sharply at Bard, Dwalin and Tauriel as he made his way towards Thorin first. He stopped at Thorin's feet, his men on either side of him and a little behind him.

"I came here to help you defend your kingdom," he said, looking directly at Thorin. "I'd no interest in ruling it for you." He shook his head. "It should be you standing here, not me." He looked to the side at Fili. "If anyone was to be crowned after Thorin fell it should have been you lad, or your brother," He shot a glance at Kili then turned his gaze back to Thorin. "I'll look after Erebor for you, cousin," he spoke heavily, his voice low. He looked at Bard and Tauriel, narrowing his eyes when he met Tauriel's eyes. "We will have peace with our neighbors and let the past be gone. We are stronger allies then enemies." He inclined his head first to Bard and then to Tauriel. He moved next to Thorin, placing his hand on his cousin's shoulder and looking down at him regretfully. "Be at peace, King under the Mountain. This should have been your victory feast, not your funeral, Thorin." He pressed Thorin's shoulder once, bowed his head and turned to swiftly walk off the platform, his men following.

Silence filled the Great Hall. The room slowly brightened as the sun came through the light shafts. A small form appeared at the end of the platform and made its way to stand by Thorin. Tauriel looked curiously at the small figure. He was smaller than a dwarf, beardless. It was the halfling she had seen with Mithrandir before the battle.

"Farewell, Thorin Oakenshield," he said. "You have regained your home. Long may your memory remain with the people of Erebor. It will remain with me as long as I shall live." He bowed his head, touching Thorin's hand briefly before he moved to stand by Fili. "Farewell, Fili. May your memory never fade from your home under the mountain." His fingertips brushed Fili's sleeve. He crossed over to Kili, a small smile coming to his face. "Farewell, Kili. I shall miss your laugh, my friend," he said softly. Bilbo moved back to Thorin and nodded to Dwalin.

Dwalin nodded to Bilbo and said, in a gentler voice than Tauriel had heard him use before "You should have come with the Company, Bilbo. You are one of us."

Bilbo gave him a half smile and shook his head. "My time with you is at an end, Dwalin. I'm going home. I set out to help you reclaim Erebor," He swept his gaze around the hall. "And here it is, reclaimed." The smile left his lips. "The price was higher than I expected and the end not the one I hoped for. But I am honored to have been a member of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield. I will treasure these memories to the end of my days."

"You'll not be staying then?" Dwalin asked.

"Oh, I couldn't leave without seeing them laid to rest, Dwalin. But I'll be on my way after that. My heart's not into feasting and rejoicing." Bilbo replied.

"Aye, I've no stomach for it either," Dwalin admitted. "But it is my duty to my new King. And to my old one," he added, looking down at Thorin, then back to Bilbo. "Safe travels, Bilbo." Bilbo nodded, looked at Thorin one more time, patting Thorin's arm gently as he walked away. He briefly spoke to Balin before disappearing across the hall.

"Right then," Balin said as he approached them. "The guards will come shortly to get Thorin, Fili and Kili. Dwalin, you and I will follow them to the crypt under the mountain. Dain will follow with the Elven King and Gandalf. The Company will follow them and then Bard and Tauriel after the Company." Bard and Tauriel nodded at him. "Ready now. It's time."

A deep horn sounded, the same one that had signaled Thorin's entry into battle just the day before. Dwarves, men and a few scattered Elves began to fill the Great Hall. The horn stopped and a single drum beat began. The dwarven guards moved onto the platform, six dwarves to each bier. They lifted Thorin first, then Fili and Kili and carried them down. Dwalin followed, falling into step with Balin and moving to the front of the dwarven guard. Tauriel glimpsed Thranduil's fair hair as he stepped next to Dain to follow the procession out of the Great Hall. Bard and Tauriel moved off the platform to stand behind the Company.

The Great Hallway was full and they walked along a pathway lined with people. They made their way out of the Great Hall and to the main gate, into the bright sunshine. In the distance, the city of Dale was lined with people. Elves and more dwarves stood on the causeway before the main gate.

Balin and Dwalin came to a halt. The horn sounded again from the walls of Erebor.

"All hail the King under the Mountain!" Dain bellowed, standing behind Thorin's body, flanked by Thranduil and Gandalf. "All hail the heirs of Durin!"

A cheer when up from all sides. Once the cheers faded Dain began to sing, the members of the Company joining him.

"King under the mountain, King of the Golden Hall. Heir of Durin the Deathless, to the Halls of Mahal you now go. Those left behind mourn your passing to the Halls of Waiting. May your memory live forever in our hearts and minds."

As the song ended Balin moved towards the mountain wall to the right of the gate. He placed his hands on the wall and spoke very quietly. Tauriel could catch his words but not the meaning. He was speaking in his own languange now. Double doors were outlined in the rock and Dwarvish runes appeared along the top. Balin and Dwalin pushed the doors and they opened inwards into darkness.

Two dwarves with torches went in to darkness and began to light torches set into the walls. Balin and Dwalin followed, the rest of the procession coming behind them into the flickering torchlight.

Tauriel paused at the entrance to the crypt, unsure if she should enter. Bard looked over at her. "All you all right?" he whispered.

"I don't belong here," she whispered back tensely.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "He would want you here. Come on now." She nodded at him and together they walked in. A long hallway lit by torches led to a large chamber, with a row of tombs going along the walls on either side. At the far end of the chamber three open tombs waited. Thorin was placed in the middle one, Fili to his right and Kili to his left.

Balin and Dwalin began a chant Tauriel could not understand. It must be in their own language, she thought to herself.

Dain stepped forward and stood in front of Thorin's tomb. "Now we lay to rest Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, King under the Mountain. Now we lay to rest the heirs of Thorin, Fili and Kili. The mountain is their home. May they find peace under it." He too then spoke words in Khuzdul and bowed his head.

Thranduil stepped forward, motioning to Bard. Tauriel was startled to see Bard step toward Thranduil and nod at him. Bard bowed to Dain and Thranduil, then to Thorin's tomb. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Arkenstone, a rush of gasps following his revelation of it. He lifted it over his head so all could see its brilliance. "In keeping with the agreement made, the Arkenstone is returned to Thorin Oakenshield." He stepped forward, handing it to Thranduil. Thranduil inclined his head slightly, then stepped forward to lay the jewel on Thorin's chest. He stepped back and bowed again.

Dain nodded at Thranduil and Bard. "We honor the promises made by the fallen. He has the Arkenstone in his keeping, as it should be." He turned to face the Company and the others in the chamber. "We now bid Thorin Oakenshield, Fili and Kili, farewell."

The dwarven guards now shifted the huge stone covers of the tombs and began to slide them over the tops of tombs themselves. Tauriel closed her eyes. She had said her goodbye to Kili on Ravenhill but she felt a new wave of grief that should would not get to see his face one last time. Bard was at her side again and he squeezed her shoulder gently.

The tombs were now sealed. Dwarven runes had been carved into the tops of each. Thranduil stepped towards Gandalf. He turned to Dain and inclined his head. "Thorin Oakenshield wielded an Elven blade from Gondolin in this battle. It may not have protected him in life but may it now protect the people of Erebor." Thranduil lifted Orcrist and placed it on Thorin's tomb. "This sword will glow if orcs are about. May it ever be a warning of danger to Durin's folk, protecting them from evil should it draw near." Thranduil stepped back and nodded at Gandalf.

Gandalf stepped close to the tomb and pointed his staff at Orcrist, as it lay on the stone covering of Thorin's tomb. He spoke a few words that Tauriel could not quite catch. A bright light enveloped the sword and it embedded itself in the stone of the tomb lid so that it could not be lifted or removed from the stone.

Dain looked at Thranduil and Gandalf and bowed his head. "We will set a watch on this chamber day and night. Evil shall not catch us unaware. Thorin shall stand guard upon this mountain, even as he sits in the Halls of Mahal, waiting for the world to be renewed." He placed a hand on Thorin's tomb, bowed his head, then turned away, leading his guards back to the hallway and the light of day. Thranduil and Gandalf fell in step behind him.

The Company filed by the three tombs, murmuring a word or laying a hand on the stone in farewell. Tauriel had not seen Bilbo join them but she saw him now, following Bofur as they moved through the chamber. Soon only Dwalin and Balin were left in the room with Tauriel and Bard. She walked to Fili's tomb, rested a hand on the cold stone then stepped to Thorin's and did the same.

She walked to Kili's tomb last, looking at the runes carved into the stone, touching her fingers to them softly. Dwarven stonemasons must have worked through the night to prepare this for Kili. She spoke softly in Sindarin. "Cormamin niuve tenna ta elea ile au." My heart shall weep until it sees thee again. And that would be forever, she thought, for Elves and Men and Dwarves are sundered after death, until the ending of the world.

Her fingertips brushed the stone as she turned away and walked out into the light. Dain and Thranduil were far ahead now, approaching the main gate of Erebor. She saw that Bard walked with them now. She had not even noticed he had left her side.

The Company lingered at the crypt entrance as she emerged. Oin caught sight of her and hurried over. "Balin said you are coming with us to the Blue Mountains. I'm glad to have you with us, lass," he said.

Not yet sure of her voice, Tauriel simply nodded in reply.

"You're sure you don't want to come to the coronation or the feast?" he asked.

She shook her head, motioning no.

"There's work to be done still today in the medical tents. Will you join me there? It'll pass the time for you and I could use someone with your skills in Elvish medicine."

"I've not much skill, Oin," she said "But I will help if I can."

"I've seen you heal, lass. There's skill and knowledge there that will make a difference. Dain's got some healers and some of your Elven kind are working there too, but every little bit can help. Come with me now-I'll take you over. Will you come?"

"I will come, Oin." Tauriel replied.

Oin tapped his brother on the shoulder. "Gloin, I'm heading back to the medical tents. Tauriel is coming with me. I'll meet you back at the coronation once I get her settled in."

Gloin looked at Tauriel sharply. "Don't be late, Oin." he said stiffly.

Oin shook his head at Gloin, put his arm on Tauriel's gently and said "Let's go, lass." Together they began to walk towards the ruins of Dale.


	25. Chapter 25

"They'll be grateful for an extra pair of hands," Oin said to Tauriel as they neared the ruined gates of Dale.

"I've not that much to add, Oin." Tauriel repeated what she had said to him earlier. He really was overestimating her skills as a healer.

"Anything helps, even if it's as simple as holding a hand," he said kindly.

They had reached the city gate. Two men and two elves stood guard. "Heading to the healers," Oin told them as they drew near. "They'll be needing our help."

Tauriel glanced at the two Elven guards. Anborn and Madon. She nodded to them. Anborn's eyes widened and Madon gave her an answering nod. Neither spoke but they drew aside to let Oin and Tauriel pass.

"This way," Oin said, turning right. Ahead Tauriel saw archways leading to a large open space. It had once been a courtyard but now was filled with stretchers, makeshift tables and Elves, dwarves and men moving purposefully about.

"Dar!" Oin called out. A dwarf with dark blond hair looked up from a stretcher and raised a hand in answer. He finished speaking to the wounded man on the stretcher then stood to walk briskly over to Oin. As he approached Tauriel saw that his hair was liberally streaked with gray. He looked at her curiously but she could see the lines of weariness around his eyes.

"Oin, I thought you'd be away all day with the funeral, coronation and feast today," he said, placing an arm on Oin's shoulder.

"Dar, I'm just bringing you some more skilled help. I've got to get back for that coronation or Gloin will never let me live it down!" Oin turned to Tauriel. "Tauriel, this is Dar. The most skilled healer in the Iron Hills. Dar, Tauriel comes from the Woodland Realm-another Elven healer for you. She's got a gift for it, no matter what she might tell you. Saved one I thought was surely bound for Mahal's Halls."

"All healers are welcome here," Dar said good-naturedly. "Especially you Elven healers-I've seen my share of Elven skill and I am glad to have you."

Tauriel had flinched at the mention of her healing of Kili. She had been useless to him in the end. She focused on Dar. "Anything I can offer, I will. Oin overpraises my skills," she said, patting Oin gently on the shoulder.

"Dar, I must go. Can you get her settled here? I doubt I'll be back before morning." He shook his head. "I've got to leave for the Blue Mountains tomorrow. I'll come get Tauriel in the morning. You'll find a place for her tonight?"

"Don't fuss yourself, Oin. I'll get her settled. Off with you, now. Can't have Dain getting crowned without you there, can we?"

Oin addressed Tauriel. "I'll come fetch you early tomorrow. Get some rest tonight. We've got a long road ahead of us."

"Thank you, Oin. For everything." Tauriel said to him with a grateful smile.

"This way," said Dar. "I'll show you around and then get you to work." Tauriel followed him to the courtyard.

"We've got the worst of the wounded over here on the left," he said, waving an arm in that direction. "The ones with bones to set and simple flesh wounds are towards the back." He pointed ahead. "And those we cannot help are here, " he said in a lower voice, pointing to the right. "We just try to keep them comfortable before the end." He shook his head and then looked up at her sharply. "I can handle the bone setting and the suturing. You and I cannot help those over there," he waved his arm to the right of Tauriel. "I will have need of your skill with the seriously wounded. I've a few Elven folk working there but it's too few. Can you handle that?"

"I will go wherever you need me."

"Supplies and all we've got for medicine are on the tables in the middle, " he said as they neared the center of the courtyard. Tauriel looked around, seeing men, women, dwarves and elves moving among the many wounded.

She took a quick look at the table nearest her. Cloth for bandages, a variety of herbs in bunches, not much more. In a far corner of the courtyard a few fires were lit, with cauldrons over them, likely boiling water to cleanse wounds.

"Feverfew, mugwort, chamomile," she said, running her hands over the herbs. "Any athelas, or kingsfoil I think you call it."

He nodded. "Not much. We've been trying to use it for the most serious injuries. Now come this way." He stepped towards the left, winding his way between tables and stretchers towards two Elves she now noticed near the far wall.

She recognized Hilar and Innor, healers among Thranduil's warriors. They nodded to her and she greeted them.

"Welcome, Tauriel." Innor said to her. "We could use your help."

"I've got kingsfoil boiling, Innor," Dar said.

"Have we got much left?" Hilar asked quietly.

"It'll have to do," Dar replied. "I've no hands free to scour the hillside for more." Dar turned to Tauriel. "I will leave you now. I'm sure Hilar and Innor will find much for you to do. I'll find a spot for you to rest tonight-unless there is a place for her in your camp, Hilar?"

"Oin will be looking for me here in the morning, Dar," Tauriel interjected before Hilar could speak.

"Aye, yes. I'd forgotten. There's plenty of room here in the city. I'll be back for you before nightfall." Dar turned toward the back wall and the wounded that awaited him there.

"Come, Tauriel." Hilar said. She fell into step with him silently. They walked to the left side of the courtyard, where Elves, men and dwarves lay on stretchers and the cold stone floor around them. "Most here have wounds that are too deep to simply close or wounds that likely have orc poison in them. The athelas will help cleanse the deep wounds to start the healing. The ones with poison will need not only the athelas, but all your skill with words of healing too." Tauriel nodded.

"Start here," Hilar stopped by a stretcher holding an Elf-Aiglos-one of the King's royal guard. His breathing was shallow, his skin pale and clammy. "We've used the athelas on him already but it hasn't done much. Give it another try, will you?" Hilar asked Tauriel, as he motioned to a woman approaching with a steaming cauldron to come to them.

"Of course," Tauriel replied, kneeling down and greeting Aiglos before beginning to remove the bandages from his side. A deep gash ran below his ribcage, the edges blackened with cold, paler skin around it.

Hilar bent to get a closer look. "Better than earlier but still not good enough."

Tauriel scooped a small amount of athelas from the cauldron and began to crush it with her hands, chanting the words of the healing as she did. The memory of doing this for Kili just a few nights before came rushing back to her. She remembered her cold fear as she had looked at his wound, a wound that looked far worse than the one before her now.

How had he lived, she wondered again. How had he survived long enough with the orc poison for her to reach him, let alone heal him?

She pressed the athelas into Aiglos' side and chanted the words again. He shuddered and opened his eyes wide for a moment before going completely limp. She held her hand against the wound, keeping the athelas there, feeling the wound grow warmer under her fingers.

"Here," said Hiron, standing by her side with clean bandages. She took them and wrapped them tightly around Aiglos' waist, pressing the athelas into position. "Good work," Hilar told her, nodding his head. "Keep going along this line of wounded. Not all have poison but the athelas will help them all. I'll get another cauldron going." Hilar walked towards the fire, stopping briefly at the supply table.

Tauriel worked for hours. She moved from the Elf to a dwarf of the Iron Hills, then a man of Laketown. Most of the wounded near her seemed to be from Dain's army she noticed. She tried to apportion the athelas so it would last-more to the wounds that looked as if there were poison or infection. By midday she had run out of athelas.

She searched the courtyard for Hilar or Innor and saw them talking with Dar near the fires. She walked towards them. Hilar looked over as she approached."Good work, Tauriel. Between us we've treated everyone in our section," he said as she neared them.

"Dar was just telling me he has finished setting all the fractures. Still some wounds to deal with, Dar?" Innor added.

"I've set and sutured all that can be," Dar answered. "The rest likely need athelas, if we can spare it, to keep the wounds from festering."

"I sent some of the men into the hills in search of it, " Innor added.

"The rocks are bare near this mountain," Dar said. "Winter's not a great time for harvesting herbs."

"You've got wounded for us to treat yet, Dar?" Tauriel asked.

He nodded. "Might as well do what we can for them, with what's left of our supplies."

"Don't let them waste the water we boiled the athelas in," Tauriel said. "I've used it to cleanse wounds and as a tissane for the wounded to drink. It carries less potency than the leaves but it can still help."

Dar raised his eyebrows. "You mean have the wounded drink it? Those that can?"

"Yes, I've seen it help. For those that cannot drink then cleanse their wounds with that water." Tauriel answered.

"Right. I've been using it to clean wounds-seemed a waste of boiled water not to-but not as a tea. I'll get right on that with the ones with broken bones. They'll likely keep it down." Dar hurried off towards the cauldrons Tauriel had left behind.

"I'll take a look around our section and see who is able to drink some of the athelas water," Hilar said. "Tauriel, why don't you help Dar with the tissane? Innor, will you check on those beyond our skills?"

"I fear we've lost a few this morning. We've little of the milk of the poppy left but I've used it to ease the end for some."

Tauriel looked to the right of the courtyard. The Laketown women were more numerous there, moving among the injured, placing a cloth on a forehead, holding a hand or speaking quietly to the still forms. Tauriel's Palace Guard duties had brought her into contact with death but not of this magnitude. The long ago memory of the orc attack on her family's settlement came back to her now as she looked at the motionless bodies.

"Tauriel?" Innor laid a hand on her arm. "Do you need to rest?"

Tauriel shook her head. "No. No, I am fine." She looked around for Dar, spotting him in the back, far from the still forms of the dying. She moved quickly to his side, keeping her eyes on him as she crossed the courtyard.

"We've set all the bones and joints. They're splinted and stitched. We can do nothing more now than give comfort and companionship. I've got this lot under control. We'll get the athelas tea out to all who can drink it-I've told the women to encourage any who are able to drink what they can of it." Dar said to her as she crouched down next to him.

"I'll help with that," Tauriel said, standing to move to the cauldrons.

It was hours later that she was finally confident she had gotten the athelas tea to all who could benefit from it. She was tired. She could not actually remember the last time she had felt this way. Elves have little need for sleep but counting back she realized she really had not rested since the dwarves had escaped. She closed her eyes and leaned against a wall. The sun was setting now. The feast at the mountain should be well under way.

She opened her eyes as she felt someone come near. Dar stood next to her.

"It's time to take a break, Tauriel," he said kindly. "There's some food in the tent next door and some cots we've been using for the healers to rest." He placed a hand on her arm. "There's no more for you to do here tonight." Tauriel looked down and nodded at him.

"I'll walk you over," he said. "I've need to eat myself."

They walked together to the tent near the makeshift hospital. Dar led her to the back, where some Laketown women were ladling out food. She and Dar each took a bowl and ate leaning against a low wall. When they were finished Dar took her to a building behind the tent. Cots were laid out in the main room. Only one or two were occupied.

"Here you go, Tauriel," he said. "I leave you here. I am grateful for your help today."

"Thank you, Dar. I appreciated having the chance to help."

"Oin will likely be by early tomorrow. It's best you get on the road soon after daybreak. I will send him to you." Dar bowed. "Dar, at your service."

She bowed back. "Tauriel, at yours and your family's, Dar." He widened his eyes and gave a small laugh.

"Aye, you've been around dwarves long enough, haven't you?"

Her small smile faded. "Not as long as I had hoped," she said. "Good night, Dar." Tauriel turned away and began fussing with the blankets on the nearest cot.

He looked at her and then said "I'm sorry, lass, for whomever or whatever you have lost." He touched her arm and then left.

Tauriel sat down on the cot. Not so much tired as spent, she thought. She had no energy to converse or interact with others. She wanted to be alone but the silence allowed her mind to keep returning to Kili and his loss. Her work during the day had kept her busy, hands and mind. She had still found herself thinking of him from time to time as she worked to save others as she had failed to save him.

But now she could think of nothing else. She lay down on the cot and tried to calm her mind. She would not break down now. She had to get Balin, Oin and Gloin safely to Ered Luin. She focused on that, running the map through her head, planning the route.

She lost herself in the details of provisions, shelter, travel time and soon fell into Elven reverie.


	26. Chapter 26

She was alert at first light. A few cots around her were occupied but all the inhabitants were asleep. She went out to the courtyard and leaned against a crumbling wall to wait.

They reached her not long after. Balin, Oin and Gloin, each weighed down with a heavy pack, Oin carrying a smaller one that he handed to her.

"Good morning, lass," Balin greeted her as they drew near. "Well, I had hoped to have Bilbo and Gandalf join us but they left yesterday."

"A wizard would have been a welcome companion," Tauriel said.

"We managed most of the trip here without him," grumbled Gloin. "We can manage the trip back on our own."

"They were planning a visit with your King," Balin said, nodding at Tauriel. "But I don't plan on experiencing the Elven King's hospitality this time through the forest," Balin continued with a raised eyebrow.

"I can understand," Tauriel said. "I also have no interest in tarrying in the halls of the King. We can take the forest path rather than the river this time. It will branch off to the halls of Thranduil but we need not follow that path to get through the forest."

"That suits me," said Oin.

"So if we are the company, when do we set out?" Tauriel asked.

"We go now. There's precious few provisions to be had in the mountain and none in this desolation. I expect you've some idea for our travels through the forest?"

"There are nuts and berries to eat as we go. Streams with clear water. We might find a rabbit or squirrel to feed you. I would be able to shoot a few, if I still had my bow." She grimaced. "I've no interest in stopping for provisions at the palace."

"Nor do we. We'll see if Beorn can't get us enough to see us to Rivendell," Balin replied.

"I'm going to go check in with Dar," Oin interrupted.

"See you don't take long," Gloin called after him. "We need to get on the road."

"So we make for Beorn's homestead," Tauriel continued to Balin. "Then Rivendell and from there to Ered Luin?" Tauriel confirmed.

"Aye," Balin agreed.

"I have longed to visit Rivendell, " Tauriel said. "Lord Elrond is renowned among our people."

"We'll not get anywhere if you two keep nattering on," Gloin said impatiently. "Blast Oin, he's run off with that healer now."

"I'll go fetch him," Tauriel said.

"No need, lass." Balin said. "Here he comes."

Oin was indeed approaching, carrying what looked like a bow and quiver. "For you," he said to Tauriel.

"Where did you come by this, Oin?" Tauriel asked. This was a bow of Eryn Galen.

"I spoke to Dar. There are weapons aplenty in there and some who won't be using them again." Oin said to her.

Tauriel understood. This was the weapon of an Elf who had died. Someone she knew. She closed her eyes and said a small invocation under her breath for the Elf who had passed to the Halls of Mandos. Then she placed the bow and quiver on her back and looked at Balin expectantly.

"Show us the way, Tauriel." Balin said. They set off towards the vastness of Mirkwood.

Their trip was far different this time. The heaviness seemed to have lifted from the forest. It did not feel as oppressive or look as dark as they walked on the forest path now. No webs marred the trees near them and Tauriel sensed no spiders near. She led them on the path, finding food and clean water as they made their way.

"Wish we'd had a guide like you the last time we were here," Oin said appreciatively, as he roasted a pair of rabbits over a small fire their third night in Mirkwood.

"We should reach the edge of the forest tomorrow," Tauriel replied. "You know how to get to Beorn from there?"

"We can find the way," Balin said. "It will be slower without ponies, but I know the direction."

"We've not run into any of your kind in here," said Gloin.

"We have not but they are here nonetheless," Tauriel answered him. "They do not hinder our progress but we have been seen and noted. I have spotted the patrols in the trees and along the path. They will not stop you this time." She wondered briefly who the Captain of the Palace Guard was now. Likely Daeron. She had not caught sight of him but suspected he had taken her place.

She had not sensed Legolas either. She had not seen him since Ravenhill. Nor Thranduil, for that matter, since the funeral. She had last spoken to them when she was with Kili. They had likely both returned to Eryn Galen by now.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft sound behind her. She stood up swiftly, spun around with both knives in her hands.

Daeron and the other Elves dropped down from the trees ahead of her.

"Tauriel," Daeron greeted her, as Oin, Gloin and Balin sprang to their feet.

"Peace, Balin," said Tauriel quickly. She stood, sheathed her knives and held her arm out to Daeron. He grasped it firmly and then let go.

"Daeron, this is Balin, Oin and Gloin. Companions of Thorin Oakenshield." Tauriel said swiftly, as she noted Gloin gripping his axe warily.

"Greetings," Daeron said. "We did not expect to see you in our lands again so soon," Daeron said to Balin.

"Balin, at your service," Balin said, bowing, then looking up at Daeron. "Seems we've met before," he said with a knowing look.

Daeron inclined his head. "I think you will find our hospitality much improved since your last visit to our land, Master Dwarf." Daeron said to Balin. He turned to Tauriel again.

"Tauriel, you have odd traveling companions," he spoke to her in Sindarin. Tauriel did not reply, but held his gaze. "You know your banishment has been lifted?" he asked quietly.

"I do know, Daeron." she replied, in Sindarin as well. "But there is no place for me here in the Woodland Realm any more. Please give my greetings and thanks to King Thranduil and to Legolas. I am simply passing through, as a guide to my companions."

Daeron eyed her curiously and then dropped his gaze to his feet, before looking up at her again. "I will convey your regrets to my King, but Legolas has not returned to the Woodland Realm." He paused, looking at her closely. "I assumed you knew?"

Tauriel's eyes widened at him. "But he left the Lonely Mountain the night of the battle. He should be here by now." She remembered Legolas had told her he did not plan to stay in Eryn Galen, when she had last seen him on Ravenhill, but she had thought he would return home, at least for a little while.

"He is not. He has taken another path, the King said," Daeron paused. "King Thranduil said we should not expect him to return anytime soon."

Tauriel drew in a breath. Legolas was not here. She had seen the pain in his eyes when he had found her with Kili but somehow she had not expected him to truly forsake the Woodland Realm. She blinked a few times and tried to steady her breathing.

"I thought you of all people would know where he was," Daeron continued. "I thought he might be with you," he added softly.

"I do not know where he is," Tauriel said, more curtly than she intended. "What path Legolas has chosen is his own decision. As I follow my path, he has chosen to follow his own." She took a deep breath and continued. "Daeron, do you have anything more to tell me? If not, we should finish our meal and you and your patrol should return to the Palace before dark." She did not mean to be discourteous but she could not keep the sharp tone from her words.

Daeron looked at Balin, Oin and Gloin, who were eyeing the Elves suspiciously. "Our world is strangely changed these days. The King entertains a wizard and a halfing. Our prince has left for parts unknown, with no word to us. You travel west with dwarves as companions." Daeron shook his head and spoke again, switching to Westron for the benefit of the dwarves now. "Do not let me keep you from your meal. I only wanted to let you know you are welcome in Eryn Galen. I have been tracking you for three days but only realized today that you do not mean to stay." He tilted his head and looked at her, switching into Sindarin again. "Your leadership will be missed, Tauriel. I am Captain of the Palace Guard now but I would gladly step down if you would return to us."

Tauriel smiled at him. "Then King Thranduil has made a wise decision, Daeron. You will serve him well, better than I ever did. But this is not where I belong anymore." She looked at Balin, Oin and Gloin. "I have a journey to carry out and companions to keep safe. May you walk in starlight and the light of Elbereth guide you." She bowed her head as she spoke the words.

"Safe travels, Tauriel. May the stars see you safely to your journey's end." He bowed his head back at her and then motioned for one of his companions to approach. "I took the liberty of obtaining some extra provisions when I heard you were traveling through our lands again," he said. "Permit me to offer them to you."

The other Elf approached with a satchel weighed down with supplies. "There are dried fruits, nuts and waybread for your travel," Daeron said as Tauriel accepted the satchel. "I have placed some of your clothing in there as well." He smiled at her.

"You have my thanks, Daeron. These are most welcome supplies." She slung the satchel over her shoulder. "This should get us to Beorn's," she said to Balin. She felt a huge relief that the question of supplies after they left the forest had been solved.

"Thank you, Daeron." She reached across for his hand and he gripped hers tightly.

"Be well, Tauriel. Be safe. Return to us when you are able."

"Namarië, Daeron." She watched as Daeron and his companions stepped back from her and disappeared into the forest.

"Well, that's a help," said Balin brightly. "We've enough provisions to get to Beorn's and he should have enough to get us to Rivendell. And Rivendell should have enough to get us to the Blue Mountains!"

"Let's get this rabbit in us before we call it a night," Gloin said.


	27. Chapter 27

Tauriel was grateful that Balin had been right about Beorn. They had arrived at his gate bedraggled and miserable. A sudden, seemingly unending downpour had caught them as they made their way across the plain to his homestead. He had ushered them in without a word. They spent a day in his company, waiting for the rains to stop.

Thanks to his hospitality they were now across the Misty Mountains, having made it through the High Pass before the winter snows. Beorn's unexpected loan of ponies and a horse for Tauriel had made that possible.

"They know the way to Rivendell," Beorn had said of their mounts. "Have Elrond send them back in the spring, once the snows have cleared. Or ride them back yourselves when your travels bring you back this way."

They arrived in the Valley of Imladris at sunset, Tauriel's horse in the lead, picking a careful path down the mountainside. The Dwarves had experienced the ethereal beauty of Imladris on their trip to Erebor but Tauriel was overwhelmed at the sight. She felt herself shiver as they passed into the Valley itself. There was deep enchantment here.

Their company reached a delicate archway leading into an open courtyard. The mounts halted as a raven-haired Elf descended a flight of stairs to meet them. His eyes swept over the Dwarves and Tauriel thought she caught a brief look of shocked dismay on his face. It swiftly passed and his expression settled into one of welcome.

"Mae Govannen, Greetings travelers. You are welcome in Rivendell." He nodded at them and continued. "I am Lindir. You may leave your mounts here. They will be cared for and your belongings will be brought to your chambers." His gaze drifted to Tauriel and she saw a curious look in his eyes now. "Allow me to escort you to Lord Elrond."

Tauriel and the Dwarves followed Lindir up the stairs as Elves materialized in the courtyard to lead the ponies and horse to the stables. Lindir led them down a hallway and then ushered them into a room paneled with dark wood. "My Lord Elrond, our guests," Lindir said.

An Elf, raven-haired like Lindir, with deep grey eyes, looked up at their arrival. He stood to walk from behind his desk to greet them.

Balin spoke before he got the chance. "At your service, my Lord Elrond, " Balin said hastily, bowing deeply and motioning Oin and Gloin to do the same. " We were not able to thank you properly for your hospitality at our last visit," Balin continued, a slight flush covering his face.

Elrond looked amused. 'You are most welcome, Master Balin. I seem to recall you were somewhat rushed at the time, shall we say?"

"Somewhat rushed," Balin repeated. "I'd say that describes it nicely. The hazards of travel with a wizard, don't you know," Balin smiled back, his eyes crinkling.

Elrond nodded formally to the Dwarves and then turned to Tauriel. "Welcome to you, my dear daughter of the Forest. It is an honor to host a visitor from Eryn Galen."

Their time with Lord Elrond was short, as Lindir guided them to their chambers moments later.

Tauriel stepped out onto the balcony of her room. She looked at the Valley around her—the peaceful waterfalls, the graceful architecture, the soft sound of the fountains. She felt safe here—a feeling she had rarely indulged in except when deep in King Thranduil's halls.

Enough. She needed to clean herself up if she was to be presentable in the Great Hall. She closed the balcony doors and reveled in the warm bath awaiting her.

The Great Hall was much smaller than Thranduil's. She caught sight of Balin at the head table and made her way to an empty seat next to Gloin. Elrond caught her eye and motioned her to the vacant seat to his right. She gave him a puzzled look, certain that she was not illustrious enough a guest to warrant that position.

"Come, Tauriel," Elrond said. "My daughter is away still and my sons are out on patrol. Join me." He gave her a genuine smile.

She sat down next to him and looked around the table. Balin, Oin and Gloin were seated further down on Tauriel's side of the table. A young woman with dark hair was seated at Elrond's left. A small boy with similar dark hair and large grey eyes was seated next to her and he gave Tauriel a shy smile when she caught his eye.

"The Lady Gilraen and her son, Estel, my ward," Elrond made the introductions, gesturing to his left.

"Well met, my lady. Estel," Tauriel could see these were mortals, not Elves, and she wondered at Elrond calling the boy his ward.

The meal progressed pleasantly. Elrond made conversation intermittently with both Tauriel and Gilraen. Towards the end of the meal he focused his attention on Tauriel. "You have unusual companions, my dear. I am frankly surprised Thranduil provided an Elven guard to these Dwarves."

Tauriel's heart sank at his words but she bravely faced him. "My Lord, King Thranduil has not provided a guard to this party. I travel with them of my own free will." She paused, steadying her voice and then continued. "I have left Eryn Galen to seek my fortune elsewhere."

"I see," Elrond looked at her intently. "We must speak further before you set out again. I have a feeling your destination may not keep you with your companions much longer?"

"That is to be determined. I have agreed to accompany Balin to Ered Luin, to bring word to Thorin Oakenshield's sister of his demise." She looked down, her fist clenching in her lap. "I was at the battle."

Elrond gave her hand a squeeze. "So I have heard from Balin. I believe you are bringing Thorin's sister more than just the news of her brother's death? From Balin's word she has lost far more than just a brother."

"Yes," Tauriel said, continued to keep her gaze down. "Both her sons were killed in the battle." She frowned. "I was there and Balin felt she would want to hear of their last moments."

"Now is not the most opportune time to discuss this further, Tauriel, but I would like to hear more from you." Elrond said.

"We will soon be on the road again, " Tauriel demurred.

"I have counseled Balin to wait. My sons are out on patrol to the west. They are expected to return soon and can give you good advice for your journey to Ered Luin. We will find time to speak before you depart." He patted her hand reassuringly. "I will have Lindir find you tomorrow."

Tauriel looked into his face but found only kindness and concern there. "I would like that," she finally said.

Morning found her exploring the gardens of Imladris. Lindir found her, sitting near a large fountain.

"Tauriel, Lord Elrond asked me to find you. Would you be so kind as to accompany me to him?"

"I would be happy to, " Tauriel said, as she stood up from her bench. She leaned over and trailed a finger in the fountain's water. "It's so lovely here."

"There is something for everyone in Imladris. But most, like yourself, seem to enjoy the tranquility and beauty of the grounds." Lindir said. "I am glad your companions are less boisterous than they were on their previous visit."

Tauriel gave him a curious look. "Boisterous?"

"I came upon the lot of them bathing and splashing in this very fountain the morning after they arrived!" Lindir said, shaking his head. "As if there were not baths set up in their chambers!"

"In the fountain?" Tauriel repeated.

"This very one. Wrestling, splashing, two of them jumping from the upper levels and crashing into the rest. I've never seen the like of it and hope never to again." Lindir responded.

Tauriel had a good idea who the two he was referring to probably were. Her chest tightened at the thought of Kili and his brother. It would be just like them to do something like that, she thought.

"I doubt you will. The ones you are referring to won't be coming this way again. They were killed in the battle at Erebor," Tauriel said coldly.

Lindir looked startled. "I am sorry to hear that. I meant no offence, Tauriel." He frowned. "It was just a little fun they were having, I suppose. Just so different from us."

"Not so different, Lindir, once you get to know them," Tauriel said.

"I am sorry if I have upset you, Tauriel." Lindir frowned.

"It is no matter. Please take me to Lord Elrond. I do not wish to keep him waiting."

She was directed back to the same study as the day before. Elrond dismissed his aide with a nod of his head. "I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you, Tauriel." Elrond motioned to the chair in front of his desk and Tauriel sank into the soft cushions as she faced the Lord of Imladris.

Tauriel felt the weight of his gaze. This was an Elf of the First Age, she reminded herself. For all his kindly demeanor and gentle words he had seen much more in his long years than she could ever comprehend. There was compassion as he looked at her and she felt near tears. She looked down quickly, breaking the eye contact.

"I spoke with Balin yesterday. He gave me a detailed description of the events leading up to his return here. I am sorry for the loss of Thorin Oakenshield and his nephews. Though I only met them briefly I know they were all valiant fighters and loyal to their cause." He leaned back in his chair. "But I would hear more of your story. The Elves of Eryn Galen do not often leave their forest, let alone in the company of dwarves. Balin said you have suffered a great loss yourself. If I may help in any way. . ." his words trailed off.

Tauriel hesitated to answer his question. She could not bear the disdain or curiosity her admission might bring. But as she looked at Elrond again she decided he had seen too much in his many years to judge her too harshly. Was he not known as the foster-son of Kinslayers? If he could absolve the Sons of Fëanor her transgression certainly paled compared to theirs.

"I have left Eryn Galen, Lord Elrond, because by my actions and the feelings in my heart I have strayed from my duties and responsibilities to King Thranduil." Elrond nodded at her to continue. "I left my post, against the direct orders of my King, to follow the Company of Thorin Oakenshield to Laketown."

"What compelled you to do so?" Elrond asked.

"At the time I told myself it was because I felt we had overstepped in our imprisonment of them. That we had wrongly isolated ourselves for too long. But truly it was more because I cared for one of the dwarves. He was injured in the Orc attack on the Forest River." Tauriel admitted. "I knew the wound was poisoned and I left to try to aid him."

"And did you?" Elrond queried.

Tauriel frowned, surprised at the lack of censure. "I did. I arrived in time and was able to heal him." She looked down again. "But I convinced Legolas to come with me, which was not right. I see that now. He bears a duty even greater than mine to his father and the Woodland Realm. I followed my own willful plan but I did not need to spur him to disregard his duties and bring him into conflict with his King."

"I doubt you could make Legolas do anything he didn't want to do, Tauriel. He is a warrior and a Prince. If he came with you, he did it on his own volition, not compelled by your request alone, but by something within him." Elrond stated.

Tauriel gave him a puzzled look. This conversation was certainly not going the way she had anticipated.

"I would like to know more about your healing of the dwarf." Elrond added. "As a healer myself."

"It was a poisoned arrow wound. I have seen similar, when the Necromancer's forces attacked ours near Dol Guldur. The edges of the arrow wound were black but the skin surrounding it was cold and white. He grew very weak, in body and in spirit." Tauriel replied.

"How did you manage to heal him?" Elrond asked, leaning forward, hands on his desk.

"These wounds are so rare and our healers have not often had much success with those injured in this way, but athelas in the wound was their standard treatment. A Song of Healing also. I am no healer but I had witnessed the healers treating such an injury before so I thought to try."

"With athelas and a Song of Healing?"

"Yes. I also had him drink the water I boiled the athelas in. I don't know if that helped at all but I didn't know what else to do for him." Tauriel admitted.

Elrond nodded and a smile came to his face. "You may be no healer but your natural instinct steered you well. Too often healers forget that the athelas water itself carries the essence of the plant and can bring its own benefit." He tilted his head to the side. "I think there is more to this story. Tell me of this dwarf."

Tauriel found herself telling Elrond not only of her healing of Kili and the escape from Laketown, but also of her feelings for him and the confirmation that he felt the same. Elrond nodded and encouraged her to continue speaking until she had told him everything, including Kili's final moments on Ravenhill.

"I travel to bring news to Kili's mother of his death." She hesitated, then pulled the runestone out of her pocket. "I need to also return this to her." She placed it on the desk.

Elrond picked the stone up and looked at it. " 'Return to me'," he said. "I read the Dwarven runes," he explained, turning the runestone over in his hands. "How did you come by this?"

"His mother gave it to him when he left home. As a promise to return to her, he said." Tauriel thought back to the shores of Laketown for a moment before speaking again. "He gave it to me, as a promise, before he left Laketown for Erebor."

"As a promise?" asked Elrond.

"That we would see each other again. That I would return to him, I suppose." Tauriel said.

"I see. So you go to return it to his mother. And then what? Where will you go after that?"

"I do not know. I cannot go back to Eryn Galen. I betrayed my duties to the King. I was banished by his decree when I left for Laketown but he has since rescinded that." Tauriel's brows drew together. "I still would not feel right returning there."

Elrond looked at the runestone again, then clasped it in his hand and closed his eyes. Tauriel thought she caught a brief flash of blue from his hands but it passed so quickly she could not be sure it was not a trick of the light.

Elrond opened his eyes and placed the runestone back on his desk and pushed it towards her, nodding his head for her to take it. "So if you do not plan to return to Eryn Galen, where will you go? Stay in Ered Luin?"

"I had thought perhaps to go to the Havens," she said quietly.

Elrond nodded. "The Havens. You mean to sail then?"

"Perhaps."

"I would tell you that there is power in this runestone that you carry, Tauriel. I understand your wish to return it to Kili's mother but the stone was given to you. It is yours now."

"Power?" Tauriel queried.

"Oaths and promises of this kind are not to be taken lightly. We do not often realize the power they hold until the oath is upon us or we meet our fate. Your runestone has a purpose. The bearer is to return to the one who bestowed it." Elrond told her.

"But I do not understand. I am going to give it back to the one who bestowed it."

"Kili's mother did not bestow it last. Kili passed it from his keeping into yours. With the expectation of your return to him." Elrond said.

"But I can't return to him. He's gone." Tauriel remembered something Kili had said on Ravenhill. "He has gone to the Halls of Waiting, the Halls of Mahal."

Elrond raised his eyebrow. "He told you that?"

"Yes. His last moments, he said that was where he was going. 'To wait until the world is renewed' he said." Tauriel could see Kili's face, his body lying on that cold ledge.

"Then I think I have some advice for you, my dear. I think that you should sail. This runestone holds your promise to return to him." Elrond said.

"But he is gone. Where could I return to him?" Tauriel was confused.

"We have knowledge of the Halls of Mandos, from the Eldar that came to these shores from Aman. They knew nothing of the Dwarves until they met them here in these lands. The Dwarves have always claimed they go to the Halls of Mahal, as they call Aulë, their maker." Elrond explained. "I do not know this for a fact, nor can we know it, from these shores, but if they are waiting for the world to be renewed then I believe the Dwarves will have some role to play in the Dagor Dagorath and the rebuilding of the world after the Final Battle."

Tauriel realized she was sitting, staring at Elrond with her mouth open. She shut it and shook her head. "I am not sure I understand."

"The Halls of Mahal must be part of the greater Halls of Mandos." Elrond said to himself, then focused his words on Tauriel again. "It is my thought that you seek out the Halls of Mandos when you reach the far shore. I believe your runestone may allow you an audience with Mandos himself. There may be some way for you to fulfil your promise still."

"But he is dead. I saw him die in front of me." Tauriel's head was spinning.

"I am not saying he isn't dead. But the Dwarves have always believed their dead would wake again at Mahal's behest to reshape the world after the Dagor Dagorath. It may just be a matter of time before that occurs." He gave her a small grimace. "It may be a long time, mind you."

"Long time?" Tauriel felt awkward, continually repeating Elrond's words back to him but she really felt at a loss.

"Tauriel. Sail to Aman. Go to the Halls of Mandos. The runestone is your promise. It may allow you to be reunited with your Kili at the end of all things. Or it may not. There is no way to know without trying." Elrond said. "I would not want you to stay here and fade, without even the hope of seeing him again."

"But an audience with Mandos? Finding him at the end of the world? That sounds like something from a story!" Tauriel exclaimed.

"Stranger things have happened and many of the stories were true in their time. My own great-grandmother brought her true love out of the Halls of Mandos and back across the sea to Middle Earth. You've heard the story of Beren and Luthien."

"I am no Luthien and Kili is no Beren!" Tauriel protested.

Elrond laughed. "I am not saying you are. But I think it is a sight better to take a chance rather than fade and find yourself in the Halls of Mandos by default," Elrond said briskly. "There is no need to decide now, Tauriel. These are just thoughts and suppositions of mine. But I would not be too hasty to return the stone back into the keeping of another, if I were you."

Tauriel stared at Elrond, her mind whirling with the maelstrom his words had caused her. She could hardly suppress the sharp stab of hope she had felt at his words. Could there be a chance? Anything would be better than the emptiness she felt at Kili's absence. She had thought to sail anyway. What harm could it do to follow Elrond's suggestions?

She looked up to see him smiling at her. "I have been remiss, Tauriel. This is far too much to take in all at once, I fear. Think on what I have said. I will aid you in any way I can, just tell me."

"No, my Lord Elrond. Your words are wise and well-spoken. You have given me hope. It was in my mind to sail, but to no purpose other than to leave this world and seek some healing to fill the emptiness of his loss." She found herself smiling back at him. "I will think on it, but I believe my road will lead me to the Havens after Ered Luin."

author note: I am using artistic license and utilizing the book timeline rather than the movie timeline. Per book dates Aragorn would have been 11-12 years old at the time of the Battle of Erebor. He could conceivably have met Bilbo during Bilbo's time in Rivendell with Thorin.


	28. Chapter 28

Balin had agreed with the suggestion to delay their travels until the Sons of Elrond had returned. He told Tauriel at their evening meal.

"It will help us if we know what to expect on the road," Balin said. "Elrond's sons are on a short patrol but he expects them back soon. I'd like your counsel when I speak to them, Tauriel."

"As you wish, Balin. I am unfamiliar with the lands here and would welcome their advice," Tauriel replied.

"I'd like to avoid a run-in with Trolls this time," Gloin added.

Tauriel smiled. Balin had told her the tale of the Company's successful avoidance of becoming a Troll meal, while they had traveled over the Misty Mountains.

She was seated at Elrond's side again tonight. He smiled at Gloin's words and shook his head. "I am still mystified as to how the sword of the King of Gondolin and its mate ended up in that Troll hoard."

"I doubt we will ever get the story on that," Balin said. "Orcrist lies on Thorin's grave now," he added.

"Then Orcrist has found a worthy home," Elrond said. "It has served its purpose yet again, as it did long ago."

"That was a sword of Gondolin Thorin carried?" Tauriel asked curiously. Legolas had never mentioned that to her.

"Yes. Glamdring and Orcrist were forged in Gondolin. Turgon wielded Glamdring in the Nirnaith Arnoediad and again in the Fall of Gondolin. Orcrist was its mate—slightly shorter and with a more curved blade. It was my grandmother Idril's sword during her escape from the city," Elrond replied to her question.

Balin's eyes widened as he stared at Elrond. "Your grandmother?"

"Yes. Idril was my father's mother," Elrond explained.

"But then by all rights that sword belongs to you!" Balin spluttered.

"Peace, Balin. I have a most serviceable blade of my own. Orcrist and Glamdring came to those who needed them most. Their purpose was renewed. They were made to fight Orcs and creatures of darkness and they did so again." Elrond looked thoughtful for a moment. "I was glad to have the chance to see them with my own eyes, that was enough."

"You did Thorin a great honor by allowing him to keep it, my Lord," said Oin.

"Perhaps it is well I did not tell him it was my grandmother's sword," Elrond said with a smile.

"Our women know how to wield weapons," Gloin broke in. "And forge them too. I am proud to carry an axe forged by my wife."

"You speak truly, Master Gloin," Elrond agreed. He leaned in to speak softly to Tauriel. "It is good Glorfindel was not here when Thorin and his company visited us. He would not have taken well to seeing those swords in the hands of others."

"Glorfindel of Gondolin," Tauriel replied. "That is where he lost his life." She looked at Elrond. "I have heard the stories."

"And most of them are true," Elrond confided. "I did not know my grandmother or her father, Turgon. Their swords have historical significance for me but far more personal meaning to Glorfindel. Last he saw them was the day he died. He knows they have been found and who carried them from Imladris, but I am glad he was not here to see them again." Elrond looked down at the table, lost in thought.

Moments later he shook his head, as if to clear it, and turned to Tauriel again. "You did not join us in the Hall of Fire last night. Please come this evening. There are stories and songs—not only the Noldor dirges that Thranduil despises—but others as well. It is not to be missed."

"I would like that," Tauriel smiled at Elrond's comment. She had heard Thranduil use those exact words about a visiting singer's selections at a feast in Eryn Galen years ago.

Tauriel found a comfortable seat in a corner of the Hall of Fire, near Gilraen and her son. She was surprised to note Lindir was one of the singers and even more surprised at the loveliness of his voice. She was listening to him sing when she noticed movement at the entrance to the Hall.

Two tall, dark-haired Elves with matching faces entered, followed closely by another stately Elf, this one with glorious, long, golden hair. Tauriel was mesmerized, for surely these must be the twin Sons of Elrond and Glorfindel of Gondolin, the Balrog slayer himself.

But Tauriel had only a moment to bask in her hero-worship before her breath caught and her chest tightened painfully.

Legolas walked behind them.

He was in Imladris. Legolas was in Imladris. The words kept repeating themselves in her head, her eyes locked on him now, the others forgotten in her shock. She momentarily thought to try to escape the Hall by another passage or doorway but she mentally scolded herself for the thought. It was a disservice to her and to Legolas to even think that way.

She looked back in his direction to discover that he had seen her. He touched one of the twins on the arm and briefly spoke to him, then made his way directly to her.

Her hands twisted in her lap. What was he doing here? What would she say to him?

She was granted a brief reprieve from that conversation. Estel left his mother's side with a cry of "Legolas!" and hurtled towards her friend. Tauriel watched Legolas' face turn from her and break into a delighted grin as the small boy launched himself at the Elf. Legolas pretended to stagger from the onslaught, then picked Estel up and spun him around. Gilraen hurried forward with a reprimand for her son and an apology to Legolas.

Legolas laughed as he set the boy down to put a gentle arm on Gilraen's shoulder. Tauriel could not hear his words but Gilraen shook her head, smiling broadly now and placed her hand on Estel's head.

Estel pulled at Legolas' hand. "There's another Elf from Eryn Galen, Legolas!" he announced proudly, dragging Legolas to where Tauriel sat.

She stood at their approach, her eyes meeting Legolas' over the boy's head, Estel clinging to his side.

"You've met Tauriel then, Estel?" Legolas asked.

Estel nodded vigorously. "She's from your home, Legolas."

"That she is," Legolas squatted down, at eye level with the boy now. "I met Tauriel when she was no bigger than you," he told Estel, giving Tauriel a sidelong glance as he did. "I'd like a chance to catch up with her a bit. Shall I find you in the morning for our overdue archery lesson?"

Estel frowned, then looked at Legolas solemnly. "She's your friend also, then. I'll wait until tomorrow." He raised an eyebrow and gave Legolas a mischievous look. "I'll tackle Elladan for a bedtime story instead!"

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Legolas replied, ruffling the boy's hair and standing up again. "Now off with you!"

Estel winked at Tauriel and ran across the room towards the twins, ramming into one of them with force enough to make him stagger into his brother.

Gilraen shook her head at Legolas again. "You spoil him, I'll have you know," she said, lightly touching Legolas on the shoulder as she moved to follow her son across the room.

Legolas turned to Tauriel, his full attention on her now. He tilted his head in an unconscious imitation of his father. "Mae Govannen, Tauriel," he said formally. "I had not expected to find you here."

"Mae Govannen, Legolas. I had not expected to find you here either," Tauriel replied. "You seem well acquainted with young Estel?"

Legolas smiled. "I've known Estel since he was fostered here. You know Father has sent me here from time to time, to meet with Elrond. I've gotten to know the child on those visits."

"He seems to cherish your company."

"I have that effect on children. You were much the same at his age," Legolas replied. They looked at each other silently for a moment, all jest and small talk put aside.

"Come walk with me, Tauriel. We can speak better away from the songs and conversation of the Hall." Legolas took her hand and drew her out of the Hall of Fire.

He let go of her hand as they passed the threshold and she followed him to the gardens outside. He found a stone bench and motioned for her to sit beside him. Legolas leaned back, crossed his ankles and looked up at the stars. She sat next to him, mimicking his position. It was not the first time they had sat together just like this.

"What brings you here, Tauriel?" Legolas finally broke the silence.

"I am escorting members of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield to Ered Luin." Legolas swiveled his head to look directly at her but she kept her eyes on the sky. "They travel to Thorin's sister to bring her tidings of his death and of the deaths of her sons." Tauriel sighed.

"My father has sent you as escort?" Legolas asked incredulously.

Tauriel shook her head. "I am not an Elf of Eryn Galen now, Legolas. Your father does not command me anymore. Balin asked for my company. He felt it would help her to hear of her sons' death from someone who was there with them."

"But you are not banished anymore, Tauriel. Father rescinded that." Legolas countered.

"He did."

"But still you will not go back?" he asked. Tauriel did not reply.

Legolas did not speak but his hand reached out and grasped Tauriel's, his fingers interlacing with her own. He squeezed her hand before he spoke again. "I am sorry, Tauriel. This cannot be easy for you."

Tauriel squeezed his hand back and turned to look at him. "It's not. I can't imagine she will want to hear anything from an Elf. But I feel. . . I feel I owe it to him."

"Balin asks much of you," Legolas said.

"It will be more difficult for her than for me. She has no one anymore." Tauriel said. They sat in silence for some time, Legolas still gently holding her hand.

"What will you do, after?" he asked.

"I do not intend to return to Eryn Galen. That chapter of my life has closed," Tauriel answered.

Legolas frowned, the concern visible on his face. "You know you always have a place there, Tauriel. Always."

"I know, mellon. I know." She thought about her conversation with Elrond earlier in the day. She had already made her decision. She owed Legolas her honesty in this. "I had initially thought perhaps to return here and take up service in Elrond's household or to travel to the Havens, as Mithlond is near to Ered Luin."

"I am sure Elrond would find a place for you! They are sorely in need of good archers here," Legolas said briskly. "I have told Elladan and Elrohir that time and time again."

Tauriel started to smile at his words. So like Legolas to always be thinking about security and battle readiness. But her smile faded. That was what it meant to be an Elf of Eryn Galen. To always be ready for the darkness.

Legolas continued speaking. "Tauriel, I can speak to the twins for you. I am sure a skilled archer would be most welcome on their patrols."

If he had heard her mention the Havens he was pointedly ignoring it. She squeezed his hand, causing him to look at her.

"I said I had been thinking about it, not that I had decided to return here. I am planning on traveling to the Havens, Legolas."

"The Havens? You can't be serious, Tauriel." He sat up, agitated now. "To visit, surely. Not to sail."

"To visit with the intent to sail," she replied.

He stood up now, his agitation visible in his pacing in front of her. "Tauriel, it is near unheard of for a Silvan Elf to sail," he frowned at her. "You do not have the sea-longing. That is an affliction of the Noldor," he stated.

"You sound just like your father when you say that!" she said and he made a dismissive gesture so like Thranduil that she laughed outright.

"This is not funny, Tauriel. Talk of sailing is not a joke," he scolded.

"It is not the sailing that amuses me, Legolas, but just how much you resemble Thranduil at times," Tauriel said.

He made the dismissive gesture again and she held her laughter in this time. "It can't be helped. I'm his son, after all." Legolas stopped pacing and stood in front of her, arms crossed disapprovingly over his chest. "Tell me you are not seriously considering sailing?"

Tauriel sighed. "Sit down and stop looming over me like that," she said. "I'll try to explain."

It was past moonrise when Tauriel stopped speaking and she and Legolas sat in silence again. She had shared the full story of her relationship with Kili with him finally. No omissions. It had hurt him initially, on Ravenhill, to see the extent of her emotions. He may have been better prepared this time but she knew he was still taken aback at the intensity.

"May I see the stone?" he asked, breaking their silence. She looked at him in surprise but drew it out of her pocket. He took it, looked it over thoughtfully, then handed it back. "It looks just like a stone to me, but if Elrond said he sensed something . . . he is far more learned than you or I." She tucked the runestone away again carefully.

"You are determined to go to the Havens, then? To sail?" Legolas asked.

"I am. I must fulfill my task for Balin but once that is done I will go to Mithlond." She looked up at the moon, not meeting his eyes.

He took her hand again and sat up. She chanced a look at him, not surprised at the frown on his face again.

"Let me come with you," he said.

"Come with me?" A cold dread came over Tauriel. What had she done? Thranduil would never forgive her if Legolas sailed. "Legolas! You cannot sail. Your father . . . no, I cannot let you do it." She realized she was babbling at him in her shock.

Legolas blinked at her. "Not to sail. I have no interest in sailing, not now, not ever." He squeezed her hand again. "Let me accompany you to Ered Luin and then to Mithlond. You need not travel alone."

"No, Legolas. There is no need for you to do that. Mithlond is but a day's ride from Ered Luin." She shook her head at him. "I will not be alone but the one day. You do not want to travel with dwarves, mellon, you know this."

Legolas made a face. "I would endure it, if it would help you."

"No, mellon-nin, I can travel with Balin, Oin and Gloin to Ered Luin. I have been with them all the way from Erebor and we are companions now," Tauriel said.

"As you wish, Tauriel. If you change your mind . . ."

"I appreciate your offer, Legolas," Tauriel smiled.

"When you get to Mithlond, Tauriel, if you change your mind, send me word. There is always a place for you, wherever I am," he replied.

"I know, Legolas. If I do not sail I will send word to you." She looked at him thoughtfully. "But what of you, mellon-nin? How did you come to be here? When will you return to your home?"

Legolas leaned back on the bench with a grunt. "I was not quite myself after the battle," he said, his eyes back on the sky and avoiding hers, arms crossed over his chest. "I had exchanged some harsh words with Ada and had learned something unexpected about you as well." He sighed. "I've long thought about what you said at the river, Tauriel. About Ada isolating himself." He sighed again. "We fight against the Darkness alone in Eryn Galen. Ada asks for no aid and expects none. But if any of us had fought alone against that Orc horde at Erebor we would have been defeated. It was only Elves, Men and Dwarves working together that kept us from defeat." He paused then added "Well I suppose a Wizard, some Eagles and a great bear as well, but you know what I mean."

"But you have left home," Tauriel said.

"I did. I needed to go somewhere that didn't remind me of you for a bit." At her stricken look Legolas reached out and touched her shoulder. "No, don't blame yourself. I had put an idea in my head, one that perhaps looked appealing but wasn't really based on the reality of our circumstances. I tried to make it work. I'm sorry."

"I did not mean to hurt you," Tauriel said.

"You have not. I was trying to fit a puzzle piece into the wrong spot . . . pushing it harder was never going to make it fit. I see that now. As you have said to me—we all have our own path. My path brought me here; to close friends and good counsel," Legolas said.

"So will you stay here?" Tauriel asked tentatively.

"Valar! No. I will say patrolling with Elladan and Elrohir is always unpredictable and diverting but I know where I am needed and where I belong—fighting the darkness in Eryn Galen."

"And your father?" Tauriel asked.

"Ada has a temper. As do I, it appears. He loves me and I love him. He is all I have and I am his son and heir. My heart lies in the forest, my duty lies with him and with our people. I was planning to return to him in a few weeks time."

"I am glad. I was distraught to think I may have caused a rift between you and King Thranduil," Tauriel confided. "Forgive me for putting you in such conflict."

"I put myself in that situation, Tauriel. It is nothing that a little time and heart to heart conversation cannot bridge," Legolas gave her a sidelong look. "You are not the only one who has benefitted from Elrond's counsel."

Tauriel laughed, a weight lifting from her spirits. She and Legolas were going to be all right. Legolas and Thranduil were going to be all right. Though if she did sail, she might not see Legolas again, but their friendship was still very much alive and she would carry the memory of it with her.

"What's so amusing?" Legolas asked.

Tauriel took hold of his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. "I am not laughing at you. I am simply grateful to have your friendship. You are my dearest friend. I will miss you."

Legolas rested his head on hers. "You know I will miss you also. Send me word, Tauriel. Whatever you decide in Mithlond."

"I will."

The silence took over again as they sat together in comfortable companionship, as they had more times than Tauriel could count.

"When do you leave?" Legolas asked.

"Elrond suggested we speak with the twins to get advice on the route," Tauriel replied.

"We were just past Bree on our patrol. We met up with a Dunedain patrol there. They had recently ranged to Fornost and Mithlond. Elladan should be able to give you accurate information for Ered Luin. We saw nothing amiss on the road ourselves." Legolas patted Tauriel's hand. "It appears that all the foul creatures of Gundabad and the Misty Mountains went to Erebor. Elrohir was bitter about that. He said it made the patrol far too boring."

"I would think he would be glad the lands close to his home were free of Orcs," Tauriel said.

"They won't be free for long. Survivors will come back and breed more foulness to trouble us. He just won't have as many to hunt for awhile," Legolas answered and then they lapsed into silence again, each deep in their own thoughts.


	29. Chapter 29

The knocking on his door continued as Legolas left the balcony and entered his room. The only people who would be so persistent this early in the morning were the twins. Ignoring them certainly wouldn't make them go away. They would just find another way.

He crossed to the door, the pounding continuing and Elladan's voice came through the oak panels. "Ai! Legolas! I know you are in there."

Legolas threw open the door and the twins barreled into his room, Elladan making straight for Legolas' bed while Elrohir climbed up onto the windowsill, his usual spot when they gathered in these rooms.

"Get your filthy boots off my bed," Legolas admonished Elladan, who was leaning against the headboard comfortably.

"They are not filthy," Elladan protested, crossing his ankles, boots firmly on the bed, despite Legolas' words. "They are brand new, I'll have you know and I am breaking them in." He lifted one leg off the bed and rotated his ankle at Legolas. "Not a spot on them."

Legolas sat in the chair near the hearth and narrowed his eyes at his two friends. "Don't you have somewhere to be other than my rooms at this hour?"

"Hardly. We are recovering from our latest patrol, remember? No duties today for us," Elrohir said from his perch on the sill.

Legolas snorted. "Recovering? Perhaps from last night's revels. That certainly was not one of our more taxing patrols."

"Speaking of last night's revels," said Elladan, adjusting Legolas' pillow behind his head. "You disappeared with that pretty Elf early in the night and never returned."

"Estel said she is a friend of yours from Eryn Galen," Elrohir added.

"He said she is called Tauriel," Elladan interrupted. "Isn't that the name of the Elf you've been brooding about since you got here?"

"I have not been brooding," Legolas protested, his eyebrows lowering as he glared at Elladan.

"Moping then," Elrohir suggested.

"I have not been moping. I have been out on patrol with the two of you. I do not mope," Legolas growled.

"Please," Elladan rolled his eyes.

"We heard you talking to Ada," Elrohir explained.

"Heard me? You were eavesdropping! I was in his private study," Legolas said.

Elladan shrugged. "He often leaves the window open."

"We just happened to walk by," Elrohir added. "It's not like you were keeping your voice down."

Legolas dropped his head in his hands. "Aren't you both too old for this sort of thing? You cannot just listen in on private conversations."

"You are the one who failed to close the window," Elrohir pointed out.

"It's not like you were being very forthright with us anyway," Elladan stated. "So what is going on? Did she follow you here? Where did you disappear to last night?"

Legolas leaned back in his chair and sighed. There was no escaping the twins when they had their minds set on extracting information. He could continue to be evasive and be hounded for the rest of the day or he could come clean, deal with the inevitable teasing and escape to the archery fields with Estel.

" 'Ro, we are meeting with her and that dwarf later?" Elladan asked his brother casually, his eyes darting to Legolas as he spoke.

"Later this morning, in fact," Elrohir agreed, his eyes bright with amusement as he looked at his brother. "I suppose we could just ask her, as Legolas is being so close-mouthed."

"You would not dare," Legolas said, his voice an echo of Thranduil at his coldest.

"We will not have to if you just tell us what is going on," Elladan said, with a shake of his head.

"Come on, Legolas. If you don't tell us you know we won't hesitate to ask her, right 'Dan?" Elrohir wrapped his arms around his bent knees and raised his eyebrow at his brother.

"I don't know why I even let you in here," Legolas grumbled.

"Because you knew we wouldn't go away," Elladan said.

"It's not like we haven't broken into your room before," Elrohir added.

"We could just as easily have climbed up to the balcony and come in that way if you continued to be difficult," Elladan explained. "If 'Ro couldn't pick the lock, that is."

"Does your father realize what a menace you both are?" Legolas asked.

"Come on, Legolas. We don't have all day," Elrohir said, ignoring his friend's question. "Unless you want us to take this up with Tauriel I suggest you tell us what's going on."

Legolas ran his hands through his hair, blew the air out of his mouth and shook his head. "There is not that much to tell, really," he said, leaning back in the chair, eyes on the ceiling and arms crossed over his chest. "I told you about her before, you know. She is the orphan I found, that Ada took in after that Orc raid all those years ago."

Elladan sat up, his boots on the floor now and he leaned forward. "What? She's the one you trained?"

"The one that became part of your father's guard?" Elrohir asked.

Legolas nodded. "I am sure I told you her name at some point."

Elladan flicked his hand at Legolas. "Maybe you did. I can't recall."

"How have we never met her before?" Elrohir asked.

Legolas frowned. "The raid that killed her family was right around when . . ." he paused and looked down. "You were rather preoccupied at the time," he finished.

They did not say anything for a moment. It was the time their mother had been captured by Orcs. They had not had much use for the outside world for a long time after that.

Legolas spoke into the somber silence. "You have not visited Eryn Galen since . . . since before then. I always come here. You would not have had occasion to meet her."

Elrohir was looking out the window now and Elladan, his forearms resting on his knees, was looking at the floor. Legolas continued to speak, more to fill the silence than for any other reason.

"Tauriel and I have been friends since I first found her. Recently I started to think perhaps we were something more than friends, more than fellow warriors."

Elrohir looked back at Legolas, a ghost of a smile on his face. "You didn't get all splotchy and lose the ability to speak coherently around her did you? Like you did when you were mooning over Arwen?"

Legolas glared at him. "I never . . ."

"You did," Elladan cut in. "Couldn't finish a sentence if she was anywhere near you."

"I was never splotchy," Legolas declared.

"You obviously never looked in a mirror," Elrohir said. The mood in the room was improving as the twins warmed to the task of teasing their friend.

Legolas closed his eyes and spoke slowly and clearly. "I did not get splotchy and I retained my ability to construct complete sentences with Tauriel." He opened his eyes and scowled at the twins before continuing. "I think it was just an infatuation. It seemed like a good idea at the time but . . ." he paused and grimaced. "Ada noticed and he was not pleased. He basically told Tauriel there was no chance and he reminded me that my focus needed to be on my duty to the realm."

"So producing an heir isn't one of your duties, then? As the King's son?" Elrohir asked curiously.

"It seems not," Legolas answered, with a shrug.

"She is Silvan," Elladan observed.

"What has that got to do with it?" Legolas asked, irritably. "We make no such distinctions in Eryn Galen."

Elrohir nodded at his brother's words, recognizing where Elladan was going with this train of thought. "She is a warrior too."

"True, but also irrelevant," Legolas said, looking puzzled.

"Your mother was Silvan and a member of your father's guard as well," Elladan said quietly, looking steadily at Legolas.

Legolas stared at him, realization slowly surfacing. "Oh." He blinked. "I hadn't . . ." he trailed off.

"Right," said Elrohir. "I think he was trying to do you a favor."

"In his usual Thranduil way, of course, without any clear explanation," Elladan added.

It made sense now, Legolas realized. He had not really made the connection, not even when he was telling Tauriel about his mother at Gundabad. This was Thranduil's way of protecting him from the heartache he himself had suffered at the loss of Legolas' mother. Legolas rubbed his forehead with his hand. It seemed he had misjudged his father's motivations in more than one way.

"Well then," Elrohir said, breaking the silence. "Seems Thranduil wasn't for it but how was she about the whole issue?"

Legolas slouched down in his chair and leaned his head back, staring at the patterns in the ceiling again, his arms dangling over the armrests.

"She thinks of me as her dearest friend," he said flatly.

"Well, that's not all bad then," Elrohir said, with a bit too much enthusiasm. Legolas gave him a withering look.

"Did she follow you here just to tell you that?" Elladan asked.

Legolas gave him a sidelong look, head still resting on the back of his chair. "No. She did not know I was here."

"So where did you go with her last night?" Elladan persisted.

"The gardens. To talk things out. We had left some things unsaid when I left home," Legolas said evasively.

"So what is she doing here then? With these dwarves?" Elrohir asked.

Legolas grimaced. "She is guiding them back to Ered Luin. To bring word of the successful reclamation of Erebor. And to bring word of the death of Thorin Oakenshield and his nephews to his sister."

"What has she got to do with that?" Elladan looked genuinely puzzled.

Legolas put his hands behind his head. "Because she had feelings for one of those nephews and was with him when he died."

"Feelings for him?" Elrohir repeated. "You cannot mean . . ." He broke off and swung his legs down from the windowsill to sit facing Legolas.

Legolas looked up at him and crossed his arms over his chest again. "She believes she loves him."

"A dwarf? You cannot be serious, Legolas," Elladan said, smacking Legolas on the knee.

"Serious enough that she is considering sailing," Legolas retorted.

The twins exchanged looks. Elrohir's initial amusement at the thought of an Elf loving a Dwarf dwindled as he looked at his friend. "Are you going to be all right?" he asked Legolas quietly.

Legolas waved an arm at him dismissively. "I am fine. I was thinking myself in love, I suppose, because it seemed to make sense." He scowled. "It just complicated everything, with her and with Ada."

"I can imagine," Elladan said kindly.

"I have offered to go with her . . ." Legolas began.

Elrohir jumped off the windowsill in agitation. "What? You cannot be considering sailing! Your father will be furious!"

"Legolas, no!" Elladan broke in at the same time.

"No, you idiots. I do not mean to sail with her. As if I would even consider that!" He rolled his eyes at the twins. "I offered to escort her to the Havens, but she said no." His lips thinned. "She thinks I would get too irritated, traveling with the dwarves."

"You would," Elrohir confirmed, standing in front of Legolas and smiling down at him.

"I know," Legolas said sharply. "I know. It is probably for the best if I do not go. I would rather not argue with her before she leaves, seeing as I may never see her again."

Elladan exchanged a glance with his brother again. "Are you sure you are all right?" he asked.

"I told you I am fine," Legolas muttered.

"It's just a bit of a tough hit for you. You think you love a girl, your father doesn't approve, the girl loves a completely unsuitable person, then decides to leave for the ends of the world, and you likely will never see her again. It's a bit rough," Elrohir said, putting a hand on Legolas' shoulder.

"That about sums it up," Elladan agreed. "And you have had words with your father as well."

"Well, yes, when you put it like that it's a complete bloody mess," Legolas said, looking from Elladan to Elrohir, exasperated now. "You have made me feel so much better." He threw his hands in the air before dropping them to rest on his knees. "Can't be helped." He shrugged. "I talked it out with her, so that's all right. I will get it sorted with Ada when I go home." He gave the twins a faint smile. "It seems it was not so much an affair of the heart as an affair of the head-more a temporary infatuation so don't worry yourselves that I am going to be all despondent and gloomy."

"You don't do despondent and gloomy well," Elrohir said. "You are far better at distant and bitter."

"I would say sarcastic and cold myself," Elladan countered.

"Well, we can't all be grim and forbidding like you two," Legolas replied.

"You are too fair to be grim. It is more of a Noldorin trait," Elladan retorted. "It goes along with the whole dark and mysterious look."

Legolas laughed. "You are such a pompous ass sometimes, Elladan!" He kicked Elladan's shin.

"Is anyone else starving?" Elrohir asked. "All this brooding and moping has made me hungry."

"You are always hungry," Elladan laughed.

"I am certainly ready to eat something before I deal with Estel and his archery lesson," Legolas said.

"He is fairly hopeless so far with a bow," Elladan commented. "He shows far more promise with the sword,"

They were all standing now. Elladan gripped Legolas' shoulder. "You are all right?" he asked again.

"I am fine. Stop fussing. It doesn't suit you," Legolas smiled at his friend.

Elrohir bumped Legolas' shoulder. "Moping doesn't suit you either, so I am glad you are over it."

They all moved towards the door, jostling and shoving as they tried to get through at the same time. Being more powerfully built than the slender Wood Elf, the twins buffeted him aside and struggled to push themselves through the door, Legolas following behind.

He did not get to see Elladan and Elrohir often enough and he was glad he had chosen to come here when he left home. He was grateful for their friendship. It was hard to get too morose around them. Legolas wondered, with the Orcs being in short supply near Imladris now, if this wasn't the perfect time for Elladan and Elrohir to join him for some spider hunting in Eryn Galen. He smiled at the thought of returning home in the company of the twins. It would certainly drive his father to distraction, having all three of them there. But it also might convince Thranduil to let him finally venture far enough south to find the spider nesting grounds he thought, as he followed the twins down to breakfast.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So sorry it's been such a long time since I've updated! Real life has been crazy busy and I found myself temporarily distracted by some Silmarillion characters I love. I was also having some trouble finding the right balance of exposition and story advancement for this fic. I hope I've resolved that now. We finally get to meet Dis in this chapter! Thank you for your patience, your reviews and your support of this story.

What had for the last few days simply been a dark smudge on the far horizon now manifested itself as the towering bulk of the Ered Luin. Tauriel gently touched the pocket that held Kili's runestone as she gazed at the mountain range ahead. Almost there.

The Road had taken them through the Weather Hills, past the old tower of Amon Sûl, across the Shire. Once they reached the Lhûn River they would head north to the settlements the survivors of Erebor had made for themselves in the Blue Mountains.

They would be passing close to the Mithlond, but Tauriel could not turn aside for the Havens. Not yet.

Elrond had given her hope unlooked for when he had spoken of the latent power of the runestone. She owed it to Kili to visit his mother and tell her of his bravery. She just had to find a way to avoid giving the runestone back to Dís.

Her hand strayed to her pocket again, feeling the cool presence of the stone there. She did not know what power it could hold across the sea but she was determined to find out.

Imladris had certainly not been what she expected. Of course it was lovelier than even she could have imagined but the kindness of Elrond and the informality of his sons had surprised her. As had the presence of Legolas.

She smiled as she thought of the Peredhel twins. They certainly had no awe for the Prince of Eryn Galen. They had regaled her with many amusing stories of Legolas in his youth and much to his chagrin she had countered with stories of her own. She could see there was much love between Legolas and the sons of Elrond, despite their never ending banter. Tauriel was glad she had left Legolas in their company when she had said her final farewell.

It had been a difficult parting. Legolas was the closest thing to family that Tauriel had. She had never meant to hurt him and she would miss his steadfast presence and unfailing support.

She silently thanked Elrond for the continued use of Beorn's ponies and horse. They could not have made the journey so quickly without them. Elrond had taken full responsibility for informing Beorn of their continued necessity and overall welfare. The dwarves would return the ponies to Beorn on the journey back to Erebor. Tauriel would leave the horse at the Havens, to be taken to Imladris with one of the Cirdan's messengers.

She shook her head. Enough. She was not here to reminisce—there would be plenty of time for that once she was on board ship. For now she must keep her focus on getting the dwarves safely to Ered Luin.

"Shouldn't be long now, lass," Balin said, as he pulled his pony alongside Tauriel. He eyed the mountain range ahead. "We should be there this time tomorrow."

"One more night in the Wild," Gloin grumbled.

Balin snorted. "Hardly wild when we've been at Inns the past two nights. One more night under the stars, Gloin, and you will be back with the wife and Gimli."

"I doubt my nephew's forgiven you for not letting him come with us," Oin said knowingly. "I know Gimli and he doesn't forgive of forget easily."

"He will see the wisdom of my decision when he hears of Fili and Kili," Gloin said. "They were close and he will feel their loss." Gloin's eyes briefly looked to Tauriel as he spoke but she kept her eyes fixed on the road.

"He's likely going to be even more upset you didn't let him go," grumbled Oin.

They rode on in silence after that exchange, reaching the Lhun River in the late afternoon. This was known territory for the dwarves so Tauriel followed Balin's suggestion that they cross at the bridge upstream and spend the night by the river. They could then follow the mountains to the dwarves' home in the morning.

The land was sparsely inhabited here—a few scattered farms along the plain between the Ered Luin and the Hills of Evendim. It was proving to be a mild winter, for which Tauriel was grateful. They had encountered no snow and the nighttime chill was tolerable in the tents the sons of Elrond had provided for them.

The morning dawned cold and clear. They set out along the mountain, the ponies' hooves crunching on the layer of frost that covered the grasslands. Once they reached that path parallel to the mountain Tauriel saw the first dwellings of the dwarves of Ered Luin.

Greetings were called out with increasing frequency as they passed more populous areas. Balin waved but did not stop. Few had known the reason for their travels, thinking it perhaps an unusually long merchant trip. Thorin had hand picked his companions and kept counsel only with the leaders of the other dwarf clans about his attempt to reclaim their homeland.

So it was that they finally arrived at a wide lane, with neat dwellings lining it on the mountain side. Balin halted his pony and motioned to Tauriel to stop as well.

"This is it, Tauriel. Dis' house is the last one on the left. We can leave the mounts here and walk the rest of the way. Our arrival will startle her enough without the ponies tearing up her garden."

Gloin looked uncomfortable and shifted uneasily on his pony. Balin looked at him from under heavy eyebrows and sighed.

"Off with you, Gloin. You're itching to get home, I know. I've no need for you. I can tell the tale myself," Balin said. "Off with you, now. I know it's just around the corner. Get yourself home, lad."

Gloin nodded at him and with a frown trotted his horse up to Tauriel. To her surprise, he patted her arm gently. "You have my thanks, lass. You got us here safely." He gave her a quick look then turned his pony away, looking back to speak to her over his shoulder. "Dís barks worse than she bites, lass, but never forget she is Thorin's sister." He rode away then towards his home.

"I will come in with you, Balin," Oin said gruffly. "My place is with you. There's no knowing how she will take the news and I may need to brew something to get her to sleep tonight." He slid off his pony, tied it to the nearby fence and rummaged through his saddlebag until he found his medical kit.

Balin followed suit, tying his pony up and motioning to Tauriel to do the same with her horse. He gave her a very serious look. "Tauriel. Dís is not only a bereaved sister and mother—she is the last of the line of Durin, now that Thorin and the lads are gone. She's a princess of Erebor, mind you, no matter how humble her home." He frowned and a distant look came in to his eyes. "She was there when the dragon came."

Balin shook his head. "She has lost all her family now—her grandfather, husband and brother to the Orcs of Moria and now her brother and sons to that same evil. This news will be her worst blow. She never wanted Thorin to take the lads, especially not Kili." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I can't say she was wrong, seeing as how things turned out."

He opened his eyes and gave Tauriel a sharp look. "As Gloin said, it will do well for you to remember she is Thorin's sister. She's of a similar temperament and does not hold back her words. Don't take all she says to heart and let her say her piece." He raised an eyebrow at Tauriel. "Let me do the talking and she will let you know when she wants to hear from you, trust me."

"I will do as you say, Balin. I am sure an Elf will not be a welcome guest. I have no wish to make this even worse for her," Tauriel replied.

"She was never as bad as Thorin, Balin, at least not about Elves," Oin added. "She always loved to see the King of Mirkwood's emissaries when they came and to listen to them sing when they visited Dale or Erebor."

Balin got a faraway look in his eyes. "Aye, she did. Before the dragon came." He sighed again and then turned to walk up the lane, Oin behind him, Tauriel following.

They stopped at the last house on the left. Tauriel took in the fenced yard, the tidy garden and the house itself, built in to the mountain. This was where Kili had lived, where he had grown up. She felt a heaviness in her chest at the thought. She stood a few feet behind Balin and Oin as they stood in front of the sturdy oak door and knocked.

The door opened and Tauriel's eyes widened at the sight of the dwarven woman in front of them. Balin had spoken truly—she looked so much like Thorin. Dark hair, regal nose, but when their eyes met Tauriel's heart skipped a beat; those were Kili's eyes, deep and brown but certainly not as gentle as his gaze.

Dís scanned the visitors on her doorstep and Tauriel caught the brief flash of fear in her eyes before she focused her gaze on Balin and narrowed her eyes at him with a frown. Her white-knuckled grip on the doorframe was the only outward indication of her inner agitation.

"Balin," she said, her voice firm and steady. "What do you think you are doing on my doorstep? Should you not be gallivanting out in the Wild with my brother?" She leaned forward, her eyes focused on Balin. "I have had no messages, nothing in all these months and now I find you perched on my front step? What news have you of my brother and my sons?" She opened the door further and stepped back to let them come in.

Balin and Oin moved into the hallway after her, both bowing down low. "At your service, Dís," Balin said, Oin echoing his words.

Dís frowned and her resemblance to Thorin became even more pronounced. "Spare me your service, Balin. Get in here and tell me why you are here and not my brother or my sons, for that matter." Her arms crossed over her chest and her hands gripped her elbows tightly.

Tauriel, still standing by the entry, behind Oin and Balin, had the sudden realization that Dís likely knew very well why Balin was here and what news he had for her. She felt a sudden stab of pain for this dwarven woman, knowing what was coming and the enormity of her loss. Dís met Tauriel's eyes at just that moment and she paled, as if truly seeing Tauriel for the first time, and Tauriel dropped her head quickly, not wanting Dís to the see the loss from her eyes first.

She had not been quick enough. Dís focused on her now. "Why have you brought an Elf to my home, Balin? What does an Elf have to do with Thorin's quest? Where are my sons?" Dís' voice was less steady now. She thinned her lips and moved to slam the door shut behind Tauriel, before turning to glare at Balin again. "Speak, Balin. You are trying my patience now."

"Dís, come sit down. It is a long tale in the telling," Balin answered, nodding his head towards the room to his right, where Tauriel saw a long, low sofa, chairs and a roaring fire.

Dís strode into the room and stood in front of the fireplace, hands gripping her elbows again as she faced them. Balin sat on the low sofa, Oin in the chair next to him, and Tauriel stayed by the wall, leaning into it as she watched.

"Erebor is ours again, Dis. Smaug is no more," Balin said. Dis' eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. It made her look younger, Tauriel thought.

"Erebor is free again?" she whispered. "But surely, Balin, Thorin could have spared a raven with that news. He needn't have sent you. He needs you by his side now . . ." her voice trailed off and Tauriel could see her apprehension rise again, despite the seeming good news of Balin's words.

"Sit, Dis. Please. I've much to say," Balin said, reaching his hand out to her.

Dis ignored his hand and gripped her elbows more tightly. She stood taller and held her chin high. "I do not need to sit, Balin."

"I think you should sit down, Dís," Oin said bluntly, standing up and taking her firmly by the elbow to steer her to the low seat he had just vacated by the hearth. He sat on the sofa next to Balin now. Tauriel, all but forgotten, stayed silently in her place by the wall.

Dís sat on the edge of her seat, never taking her eyes off Balin. He leaned forward as he spoke, keeping his eyes on hers. "We regained Erebor and Smaug is dead but it came at a high cost," he said gently. "We lost Thorin, Dís," he leaned forward and touched her hand before he continued. "And we lost the lads," he whispered.

Dis froze, her face growing even paler and Tauriel saw her age in that moment, from the wary but bright faced dwarven woman who had just heard news of Erebor's release to the gray faced one who took in Balin's words now. "How?" she asked.

"It was not the dragon. Orcs had plagued us as we travelled and an Orc army, led by that filth Azog, attacked us at Erebor. We had no warning." He gripped her hand tightly. "Thorin slew Azog but his wounds were too much for him to overcome. Fili was killed by Azog and Kili while trying to avenge his brother. They fought bravely, Dís."

"Azog," Dís repeated. There was so much hatred in her voice. Tauriel was again reminded of Thorin. "But Thorin destroyed him at Moria. After Azog had killed our grandfather, our brother and my husband. How can he have taken the rest of my family, Balin?"

"He lived. He did not die from the wounds Thorin gave him at Moria and he had been looking for revenge on Thorin ever since. He followed us to Erebor," Balin said.

Dís eyes flashed with anger. "I told Thorin not to go. I told him we had all we needed here. I told him not to take my sons." Her voice cracked. "What good is that kingdom of stone to me without my brother?" She stood and walked over to face the fireplace, leaning her head against the mantelpiece. "What use is Erebor without my sons?"

"I cannot tell you how sorry I am to bring you this news, Dís," Balin looked at her as she stared at the flames. "I could not send a raven for this."

Dís did not reply immediately. She stared at the fire for long moments before turning dry, burning eyes to Balin. "I see why you brought such news yourself, Balin," she said in a low voice, " But I do not see why you had to bring an Elf as well." Her eyes flashed to Tauriel.

"Dís, Tauriel is of the Woodland Realm. We did not fight the Orcs alone. The men of Laketown, the Elves of Mirkwood and the Dwarves of the Iron Hills all took part," Balin gave Tauriel a quick glance and then looked back to Dís. "Tauriel was at the battle. She had come to know your sons on our travels through her realm. She was with Kili when he . . . at the very end, Dís," Balin voice faltered as he spoke.

"Balin, you must tell me everything now," Dís spoke with command in her voice, every inch a daughter of the line of Durin. Balin tried to redirect her but she sat down next to him, her hands tightly clasped in her lap and gave him a look that had him talking almost instantly.

Tauriel, the attention off her again, gazed at Dís discreetly. There was no question she was Thorin's sister. There was a sternness to her and a steely resolve as well. Tauriel's heart went out to this hard, proud dwarven woman. She did not break down in her sorrow, even though anyone could see the news had shattered her. Tauriel listened to Balin's tale, many parts of which were new to her as well.

Oin took over to tell of Kili's arrow wound and Tauriel's role in saving his life. Dís gave Tauriel a long, appraising stare as Oin waxed eloquent on the wonders of Elven medicine.

Balin took over again and by the time he had finished the sun had set and the fire in the hearth had dwindled.

Tears ran unheeded down Dís' face and Tauriel had wiped more than a few from her own eyes while Balin spoke. Oin had wandered into the kitchen, muttering to himself.

Balin placed his hand on Dís' shoulder. "Can I get you anything?" he asked her quietly. She shook her head, her eyes on the fire again. Oin returned at that moment with a cup of tea for her.

"Drink it, Dís. It will warm you up and help you sleep tonight," Oin said. She shook her head at him. He shrugged and placed it on the table next to her.

"Balin, I thank you for coming to tell me in person. Now you had best be off home. You've said your piece. I am sure I will have more questions come morning but I have no mind to ask any now," Dís said.

"One of us can stay with you tonight, Dis. It's no good being alone," Balin said.

Dís shook her head again. "No, you have traveled far and earned your rest. You can look in on me tomorrow." She fixed her gaze on Tauriel. "What were you planning to do with the Elf?" she asked Balin.

"I will take Tauriel with me tonight," he answered. "I can bring her by in the morning. I am sure you will want to hear what she has to say about the lads."

Dís continued to look at Tauriel. "She can stay here," Dís said, to Tauriel's surprise. "I've got room to spare. And I'm sure it's a sight cleaner than your place, Balin, unoccupied as it's been since you left all those months ago."

"Are you sure?" Balin asked, anxiously eyeing Tauriel.

"I am sure," Dís replied, not taking her eyes of Tauriel now. "What do you say, Elf?"

Tauriel inclined her head graciously. "I am grateful for the hospitality." She tilted her head slightly as she looked at Dís and then seemed to come to a decision. Tauriel bowed. "At your service, Dís," she said.

She was gratified to see the look of surprise on Dís' face and the warm approval in Balin's.


	31. Chapter 31

In the Halls of the Elven King Chapter 31

Tauriel stood in the entryway uncertainly, as the door closed behind Balin. Dis locked the bolt and turned to face her, eyes narrowed. "Follow me," she said curtly, making her way down the corridor.

Carrying her bow and pack, Tauriel followed her to the last doorway on the left. Dis put her hand on the knob, briefly closed her eyes and bowed her head before exhaling and turning to give Tauriel a penetrating look. "This was Kili's room. The bed will likely be a bit short but as I recall you Elves don't sleep all that much, so I doubt it will trouble you."

Tauriel stepped into the room after Dis, her heart beating faster and her chest tight. It smelled of leather and pipe weed. Dis lit a lamp on the bedside table and the small room took on a soft glow.

"Leave your things here," Dis instructed her, moving to light the fireplace next.

Tauriel looked around. It was small but snug. A series of bows hung along the far wall, ranging in size from small to large. An illustrated map hung above the bed, small pins pushed into it in what looked like a very haphazard manner. Tauriel moved closer to look at it but was interrupted by Dis.

"I will be in the kitchen. I expect you haven't eaten much today." She frowned at Tauriel. "There's water in the bath across the hall if you want to clean up. I will expect you at supper shortly so don't dawdle." With that final instruction Dis pulled the door shut behind her, leaving Tauriel alone.

Tauriel let her gaze travel around the room more intently now that Dis was gone. She moved to the bows on the wall. They were all sturdy and well fashioned. She realized that they started as bows for a child and progressed in size. The last space was empty—likely where the bow Kili had taken on the quest had hung. She gently brushed her finger on the grip of the largest bow hanging there then put the bow she carried on the last peg, depositing her quiver on the hook next to it.

Her pack went on the floor and she made a short circuit of the room. The wall of bows. The dresser, with likenesses of Dis, Fili and likely Kili's deceased father, framed and placed on top. A collection of rocks, stones and uncut small gems were heaped on a desk in the corner of the room, next to what looked like a worn, leather-bound journal. A small shelf of books nestled above the desk, with cunningly wrought miniature animals displayed on the shelf above the books. Sketches of mountains, flowers, a valley and what looked to be likeness of Kili and Fili were tacked on the wall nearby. A window looked out onto the front garden, barely visible now that the sun had set.

Tauriel sat on the bed with a sigh. She knew Dis was waiting for her and that the room would still be there to explore after the evening meal. But she couldn't leave it just yet.

She missed him so much. He felt closer when she touched the runestone but now, in his room, she could imagine him alive more clearly. He had lived in this room, the signs of his occupancy all around her, insight into so much of him she knew nothing about.

Her thoughts scattered as a sharp knock sounded on the door. "I told you not to dawdle," Dis snapped from the other side of the sturdy oak door.

Tauriel rose from the bed and opened the door to apologize but paused as Dis gave her an odd look, her eyebrows furrowed. They stared at each other for a long moment then Dis said "Get cleaned up and come to the kitchen for supper. You Elves may not sleep but I know you need to eat from time to time." She turned away from Tauriel, briskly walking back to the kitchen.

Tauriel had not even realized she had been crying. She saw the tear tracks on her face in the mirror in the bath chamber and quickly scrubbed her face.

She found Dis in the kitchen, seated at a small wooden table that held a bowl of fruit, fresh bread, butter, honey and a covered dish that gave off a warm, spicy smell.

"Sit," Dis motioned Tauriel to take a seat at the table. She served the food in silence and Tauriel, with little appetite, attempted to partake out of politeness. The silence continued until Dis had stacked their dirty dishes in the sink and placed a steaming cup of tea in front of Tauriel.

She frowned and narrowed her eyes at Tauriel. "I would know why Balin felt the need to bring you on this trip," she said finally.

"There was a need for a guide," Tauriel began.

Dis cut her off with a snort and a sharp hand gesture. "Don't think me stupid, girl. Balin needs no 'guide' to find his way from Erebor to Ered Luin." She glared at Tauriel. "You can make this easy or you can make this difficult. The choice is yours. I won't get any sleep tonight anyway so I will stay here until I get the full story out of you." She leaned across the table, the fire reflecting in her brown eyes that reminded Tauriel so much of Kili.

They stared at each other until Tauriel spoke. "What would you like to know?" she asked Dis.

"I want to know how you were with my son when he died." Dis' gaze sharpened. "I'll want to know why you cured him of the Orcish poison. I want to know why Balin brought you here."

Tauriel closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before speaking.

"And start at the beginning, mind you," Dis interrupted. "Don't flit around."

And so Tauriel did. From the first meeting, fighting the spiders in the forest to Kili's last moments on Ravenhill. She stumbled over her words as she described taking Kili out to see the gardens under the stars and Dis gave her another sharp look.

"You are a Captain of the Mirkwood Guard?" Dis asked.

"I was," Tauriel said quietly.

"No doubt," Dis replied tartly. "What fool would take a dwarven warrior out at night alone?" She frowned at Tauriel. "I am sure Thranduil expects more sense from his Captain." She glared at Tauriel. "I take it you were demoted when he found out?"

Tauriel shook her head, her cheeks warm as she flushed at Dis' words. "He didn't find out," she whispered.

"Then what . . ." Dis started to ask, then shook her head. "No, you keep the story going. You can tell me what happened to your Captain position when you're done telling me about Kili."

Tauriel nodded and then paused as Dis' words struck her. "You called him Thranduil?" she asked.

"Well, of course I called him Thranduil. That's his name, is it not?" Dis scowled at Tauriel. "You think the granddaughter of the King Under the Mountain would not know the King of the Woodland Realm?"

"I did not think," Tauriel apologized. "I had not ever been part of the embassies to Erebor."

"Aye, I would have remembered you if you had been. I've not seen hair like that on an Elf and I would have noticed," Dis replied. "Now, go on."

Tauriel spoke of the dwarves escape, the Orc band attacking them, the arrow wound that Kili had sustained and the Orc's dire prediction for him.

"So you just followed them down the river, without a word to Thranduil? No wonder you aren't a Captain anymore! What don't you understand about following orders?"

Tauriel narrowed her eyes. "Kili would have died in Laketown if I had followed orders," she said frostily.

They glared at each other for a moment and then Dis sighed. "Aye, you saved him, for a little while, at least. Come now, I will stop interrupting and have you finish this tale of yours."

Tauriel picked up the story, of finding the Orcs in Laketown, of finding the dwarves and their flight from the dragon's wrath, after she had healed Kili.

Dis' eyes grew distant and unfocused as Tauriel spoke of Smaug's death. Tauriel stopped speaking, sensing Dis had something to say. Dis shook her head at Tauriel's silence. "I have seen a city fall to dragon fire," she finally said. "I can imagine Laketown, made of wood, burned far easier than Dale or Erebor." She closed her eyes and motioned to Tauriel to continue but it was not long before she spoke again.

"Gundabad!" Dis exclaimed. "Again the Orc filth have taken over our sacred mountain? How many times must we clear them out of there?" she muttered.

She took in Tauriel's look and grunted. "You do know Gundabad was where Durin the Deathless woke? That is why it is a sacred ground to us." Tauriel nodded, faintly remembering lessons long ago on Dwarven history. "Your kind fought with us there, long ago," Dis added.

Tauriel nodded. "It is where the Queen lost her life long ago," she said.

"The Queen?" Dis asked. "I knew Thranduil had lost his One but I had not heard it was at Gundabad."

"I did not know until recently myself," Tauriel started to speak but Dis interrupted her.

"Why does that not surprise me? How old are you, Elf?" she asked suddenly.

Tauriel drew herself up and narrowed her eyes at Dis again. "I have over six hundred years under the leaves."

"So you are a young one!" At Tauriel's scandalized expression Dis gave a small smile. "It seems I paid more attention at my Elven history lessons than you did to your Dwarven ones. There must be few as young as you."

Tauriel found herself growing irritated at how much Dis seemed to know about Elves. Far more than Thorin's entire Company put together she thought.

"No one speaks of the Queen. She had died before I came to Thranduil's Halls. Legolas only told me of her when we scouted Gundabad together," Tauriel said, her tone short and her words clipped.

Dis leaned back in her chair with a faint smile. "So much I haven't thought about for so long," she said. "Legolas. Now that is a name from the past."

"You know him?" Tauriel's eyes widened.

"Well, of course I know him, child." Dis said, causing Tauriel to grimace at being referred to as a child. "He occasionally used to come as an emissary from Thranduil when I was a girl." Dis' expression became distant again and her eyes softened. "He used to sing so beautifully. I would creep back down to the Great Hall after Father had sent me to bed just so I could hear him sing."

Tauriel's mouth gaped open and she stared at the Dwarven woman in front of her. Dis raised her eyebrows at her and smiled. "Don't tell me you never noticed his voice?" she said. "Quit gaping, child, you look like a fish on a line."

"I am quite aware of his voice," Tauriel answered coldly.

Dis looked at her appraisingly. "And not just his voice," she continued. "The Prince was always easy on the eyes and he always had a bright smile and kind words for a young dwarven Princess." She met Tauriel's eyes directly and seemed to smile at the memories.

Tauriel was speechless. Dis had a soft spot for Legolas? She never would have believed it if someone had told her. Legolas singing at Erebor feasts? Joking and laughing with dwarven children? This was a side of Legolas she did not know.

"No need to get jealous, child," Dis continued, causing Tauriel's cheeks to flame again and words bubbled up in her mouth but Dis kept talking. "He just caught my imagination when I was a girl. Like a prince from a storybook, he was. I've no designs on your sweetheart." Dis patted Tauriel's hand and Tauriel snatched it away in shock.

"He is not my sweetheart," Tauriel blurted out.

Dis expression turned serious. "Is that why you've left then? Have you quarreled with him or is a Captain of the Guard not good enough Thranduil's son?" Dis asked shrewdly.

Tauriel made an outraged sound and then found herself unexpectedly crying at the misunderstanding, her hands covering her face.

She heard Dis' chair scrape back. A soft touch came on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, girl. I would not have teased if I had known he had broken your heart." She gently stroked Tauriel's back. "Forgive me, Tauriel," Dis said, using her name now. "It just brought back happy memories when you mentioned his name. Memories from before."

"I am not his sweetheart," Tauriel said from under her hands. "Not that he didn't want that . . . once." She paused and scrubbed her eyes roughly with her hands. Dis looked surprised and moved back to sit in her chair again.

"I thought . . . " Dis began.

"You thought wrong," Tauriel replied, her grief washing over her. "I loved another."

"And you have lost him," Dis whispered, her brown eyes going soft in a way that made Tauriel start crying all over again, they looked so much like Kili's in that moment. Tauriel nodded, too overcome for words.

"I am sorry," Dis repeated, her face serious now. "He fell in battle? The battle that took my sons?" she asked. "Were you able to be with him, at the end?" Dis asked kindly. "As you were with my son?"

It was too much. Tauriel had skimmed over all of the intimate parts of her story—the runestone, the kisses under the moon, the promise given by the lake. But now she lost her self-control and the words spilled out.

"It was your son! I followed him because I loved him, I saved him because I loved him and I was with him when he died because he died saving me!" The words came out in a rush and Tauriel buried her face in her hands on the table, unable to keep her grief in any longer but unable to meet Dis' eyes as her confession broke out.

There was silence and then she heard Dis' voice, thick with emotion. "Oh, child." A warm hand touched Tauriel's back gently.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I have taken so long to update this! It has been in my thoughts and I have fully intended to return to it. So here we are with the next chapter! Thank you all for being so patient with me-more to come!

Dis had known. From the moment she opened her door and saw Balin and Oin, she had known. A year with no messages. The unexpected return of her brother's oldest friend, alone. News of this sort never came by raven. It had been Thorin last time, bringing her the news that she had lost a grandfather, a brother and a husband. Now it was Balin, bringing word that the only precious things left to her were gone.

She looked down at the Elf, gently stroking that impossibly red hair, as the girl sobbed, her face buried in her arms.

She had followed her son for love she had said. For love. Could that be possible?

She remembered another bit from her long-ago studies of Elven lore. Elves loved only once—like Dwarves—once their heart was given to their One, it was forever.

Dis thought of her husband, gone so many years now. Did she love him any less with the passage of time? No, she loved him as desperately as she had when he lived, when a look from him could take her breath away. She had held onto the hope that she would come to him again, in the Halls of Waiting. He was reunited with his sons now, she realized. Would he even recognize them?

She froze as a sudden thought occurred to her. Dwarves went to the Halls of Mahal, to wait for the Breaking of the World, so they could wake and aid Mahal in rebuilding it. But Elves—she frowned as she recalled the stories from long ago—Elves went to the Halls of Mandos. To be reborn in the Blessed Realm. It was said they were tied to the fate of Arda so would they be lost at the Breaking? Not only had this Elf lost her One, she was to be sundered from Kili—and he from her—for all time.

Could her son have truly loved this Elf, as she seemed to love him? There was no delicate way to ask and Dis was not one to be delicate. She shook her head and moved to make some more tea for the girl.

Let her cry herself out, Dis thought. It might get her to actually rest tonight if she let her grief out. Fussing over this Elf was keeping Dis from breaking down herself. It would come, she knew, in the dark hours of the night, when she was alone with her thoughts and memories.

She sat and sipped her tea, glancing at Tauriel periodically. It wasn't long before Tauriel lifted her tear-streaked face.

"I am sorry," Tauriel said. "I had not intended to do that."

"You weren't planning to tell me you loved my son?" Dis asked. "It is nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm not ashamed of it," Tauriel snapped back, then sighed. "I'm sorry. It was not the best way to tell you."

"Did he love you?" Dis asked bluntly.

Tauriel blinked and then color flushed over her face. "I believe he did," she said, with a defiant lift of her chin, a motion that Dis noted.

"Tell me then—the full story now—don't leave anything out," Dis commanded.

So Tauriel retraced her tale. She spoke of the moonlight kisses, the words Kili spoke to her as she healed him, his request of Fili and the promise given by the lake.

Tauriel reluctantly pulled the runestone out of her pocket and placed it on the table. Dis' eyes widened and she touched it gently, stroking it with one finger. "He told you I gave it to him?" she asked Tauriel.

"He did. He gave it to me at Laketown. As a promise," Tauriel replied.

Dis closed her fingers around the runestone and gripped it tightly for a moment before putting it back on the table and pushing it towards Tauriel.

"Amralimê means 'beloved' in our language," Dis said. "You said that is what he called you that morning, by the lake. The promise he had Fili make, on your behalf, is a traditional vow taken by the family of a dwarf at the betrothal ceremony." She looked at Tauriel intently. "But I think you knew that already, did you not?"

"Not in so many words, but yes," Tauriel said.

"From what you have told me I do not doubt my son loved you," Dis said softly. "But from your words I know my Fili approved, or he would never have made that vow." She looked at Tauriel without speaking for a few moments. "I know my brother would have had harsh words and likely would have forbidden such a union." Dis reached out her hand to take Tauriel's. "But I am not my brother. You are welcome to my home and to my family, Tauriel of the Woodland Realm, beloved of my son."

The tears came silently from Tauriel's eyes. She had not known what to expect from Kili's mother but she had certainly never expected acceptance. She gripped Dis' hand tightly in return, blinking and swiping the tears from her eyes with her free hand.

"I am honored," she finally whispered back. "I am so sorry I could not save him."

Dis met Tauriel's gaze. "I don't doubt that, girl," she said finally. "What will you do now?"

Tauriel frowned. "I have thought to sail," she answered. "There is nothing for me in the Woodland Realm anymore and I know no other home."

"You have a promise to keep," Dis said.

Tauriel looked at her sharply. "What do you mean?"

"You promised my son to return to him, did you not?"

"Yes, but he has gone where it is said I cannot follow," Tauriel did not mention Elrond's words to her, not yet.

Dis touched the runestone. "Some say it is just a superstition," she said. "But I believe there is an old power in the runestones, one perhaps we do not fully understand." She pushed the stone towards Tauriel again. "There are unfulfilled promises in this stone. Ones not lightly made."

"He promised to return to you," Tauriel whispered.

"That promise moved to you, when he willingly parted with the stone," Dis said. "You will sail to the Blessed Realm. I am sure there are wise ones there who can tell you more of the power of Oaths unfulfilled."

"Lord Elrond said there was power in the stone still," Tauriel said. "He thought as you, that there may be a way to use that power over the sea."

"Then you should sail with the stone and see if Lord Elrond speaks truly," Dis said.

"You . . . you do not want to keep it?" Tauriel questioned.

"It is not mine to keep. It ceased to be mine when I gave it to Kili. He gave it to you, for love and a promise. It is yours now and you have a promise to keep," Dis said. She sighed and gently touched Tauriel's hand again. "Come, girl. Get some rest. We will talk more in the morning. The Havens are but a day's ride from here and you have a longer journey ahead of you after that."


	33. Chapter 33

Tauriel lay in the bed in Kili's old room, the runestone in her hand as she stared at the ceiling. It was a relief having told Dis everything. She had not expected Kili's mother to be so . . . understanding? Kind? Supportive? She didn't even know which word described her best. Perhaps 'unexpected' made the most sense.

She had anticipated meeting a female Thorin. But it seemed Kili's mother had more in common with her second son than her older brother. Tauriel was grateful for that.

She turned the stone in her hand, feeling the carved runes against her fingertips. Dis believed there was power in the stone still, just as Elrond had sensed. Power of an unfulfilled promise. Tauriel didn't know what to think about that. Was that truly even possible?

The Havens were a day's ride away, Dis had said. It would do no harm to go there, seek out Cirdán's guidance, take passage on the next ship sailing West. There was nothing here for her anymore—she had determined that already. The Havens were her best option. Perhaps her only option, she thought.

She finally fell asleep, the stone still clutched in her grasp.

It seemed like no time before she woke to the morning sun shining in through the window. She briskly washed up and made herself presentable, tucking the runestone safely back into her pocket and packing her satchel.

Dis was already up and in the kitchen. "Good morning, girl," she said, as Tauriel joined her there. She motioned Tauriel towards the table. "Eat up. We've much to talk about before you are on your way."

Tauriel nodded and sat, soon joined by Dis.

"I don't pretend to know what you have decided to do, Tauriel," Dis said, her voice softer than it had been the night before. "It is your decision after all. But I think you should go to the Havens and see when the next ship sails."

"I thought the same," Tauriel agreed. "I do not know what to expect once I reach the other shore but I will likely get more answers there than I will here."

Dis nodded. "Did Elrond give you any advice?"

Tauriel shook her head. "Nothing specific."

"Then you best speak to Cirdán himself. If anyone knows what to expect, it would be him," Dis advised. "He's been at it long enough, if the stories are true."

Tauriel bit her lip. "I had thought to seek out an audience with Aulë—your Mahal," she said.

Dis frowned, her eyebrows creased in thought. "It is true that Kili will be in Mahal's Halls and seeking his counsel would make sense." She paused and her face grew more serious. "I believe you may want to consider seeking out his wife as well."

"Yavanna?"

"That is your name for her, I believe," Dis lightly placed her hand over Tauriel's tightly clenched one. "She is more tied to your woodland folk, is she not? Perhaps she may be easier to approach."

"I cannot imagine any of the Valar being easy to approach," Tauriel confided. "I fear they may resent my audacity at requesting an audience."

Dis looked thoughtful. "It depends on how you present yourself." She continued at Tauriel's dubious look. "You are there for assistance. You need their help. Pride and demanding behavior may not your best option. You are going there, if I have understood you properly, for love. For a second chance at it. They have granted such a thing before, if you believe the tales. That is to your advantage. Don't let yourself forget that."

A second chance? Was that truly what Dis thought she could achieve? Tauriel's chest was tight at the thought. She had not hoped for more than a chance to say a proper goodbye to Kili, if that. Her pulse quickened and she could not find the ability to form words as her mind raced at Dis' suggestion.

No, she could not get her hopes up like this. She was going there to seek out answers and perhaps a chance to fulfil their promise—to come back to each other. It would be enough just to see him, one last time. She would focus on that. Hoping for more would break her heart all over again. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself.

Dis squeezed her hand. "You can't know unless you try, can you?" Her eyes were bright as they met Tauriel's. "You can secure passage. You carry the runestone. The worst that can happen is the Valar say no." She looked down at the table. "You've already survived losing him—nothing can compare to that now, can it?"

Tauriel closed her eyes and gripped the dwarven woman's hand firmly. Once again, she had allowed herself to forget that Dis' loss was so much deeper than her own. She was giving Tauriel such hope but surely had nothing but grief left to herself. She should be comforting Dis, not taking so much consolation from her.

"You must know how much I appreciate your kindness, Dis." Tauriel's voice was low. "It is beyond what I ever expected or deserved."

Dis sighed. "There has been strife and misunderstanding between our people time and again, Tauriel. I loved my brother dearly but he held a deeper grudge against your King than Thranduil truly deserved." She shook her head. "Even the Elves of old were hard pressed when faced with a dragon. There was nothing your King could have accomplished against Smaug." Her look sharpened as their eyes met. "I know what kind of people my sons were. If they found friendship with you, if my Kili found it in his heart to love you, then I can do no less. It is not simple kindness, Tauriel. It is what my son would expect of me and I owe him that, at the very least."

"But I have been selfish." Tauriel closed her eyes. "I came to tell you of your sons, to give you some comfort that they were not alone or unmourned in their last moments but instead you have advised and comforted me. That was not my intent and I feel I have done you such a disservice by my actions." She opened her eyes to meet Dis' gaze again.

Dis sighed. "Don't fret, girl. I have a lifetime to grieve my sons but only so much time to speak to one who loved my Kili so well and who was loved by him so much." Her expression was serious. "You have done me no disservice. To know my son had found such love before he died is an unexpected gift to me." She leaned back and the thoughtful look was back on her face. "You are all I have left of them now. Is that not odd? And now you will leave as well."

"What will you do, Dis?"

"What I have always done. I will keep going." She crossed her arms over her chest, her tone more sharper now. "They go off on their quests or to fight their wars and I stay behind. To keep the home ready for them when they return, to nurse them back to health when they are injured. To attempt to knock some sense into them when they are being reckless." She tilted her head back, eyes on the ceiling now. "I suppose I must travel to the Mountain and keep Dain in line now. There is nothing for me here. My plan was to join them there, if they regained Erebor, or to stay here awaiting their return." She returned her gaze to Tauriel and narrowed her eyes. "Now that they have taken Erebor back, it will be up to me to make sure Dain keeps it. He's been no better than Thorin in the past, as far as relations with Elves go. It falls to me to knock some sense into him. It will do no good to be neighbors with Thranduil and not have civil relations." She shrugged. "So, you will go to the Havens and I will make the long trek to Erebor."

"I wish you luck in your dealings with Dain and with Thranduil. In truth, you may have the more challenging task." A small smile came across Tauriel's face at the thought of Dis taking Dain, or Thranduil for that matter, to task. She almost regretted having to miss that. Almost.

"Don't you worry about me. I've years of experience with Dain, I'll have you know and Thranduil as well. I might not be a tiny slip of a princess of Erebor anymore but I know Thranduil. They will get along or I'll be knocking their heads together."

Tauriel laughed at the mental image of Dis, giving the Elven King a talking-to. If anyone could do it, it would be this woman. She was fearless and proud and Tauriel could see where Kili got his roguish side and Fili his steadfastness.

A knock at the front door interrupted her thoughts. "That will be Balin," Dis said, scurrying to get him.

She led him into the kitchen moments later. "Good morning, Tauriel." Balin greeted her, his eyes darting from Dis to her warily. "You are well?"

"She's fine, Balin. I didn't bark at her so don't fret," Dis grumbled at him.

Tauriel smiled fondly at Balin, warmed by his concern. "I am just fine, Balin. I am grateful to Dis for her hospitality."

Balin looked at her intently, then nodded and his face relaxed into its usual kind appearance. "I brought the steed as Dis requested. Are you leaving us already, lass?"

"I will go to the Havens, Balin," Tauriel answered.

"You're determined to sail, then?"

"I am."

"You are still young for your kind, lass. You have your whole life ahead of you still," Balin objected.

"Hush, Balin. The girl has unfinished business. Let her seek her own path without you meddling." Dis put her hands on her hips and gave Balin a stern look. "It's none of your concern, besides."

Balin shook his head. He knew better than to argue with Dis but he couldn't let it go this time. "She can't come back, if she goes, Dis. You know that."

"Aye, I know that. She knows that." Dis continued to look at Balin. "You know about Kili." She tilted her head at Tauriel. "She told me that you do."

"Aye. I know the lad had feelings for her and they were returned," he said, concern on his face again as he spoke.

"So, you know that Elves are like us in this then?" Dis asked.

"Like us how?" Balin genuinely looked puzzled.

"Their One."

"It might be similar, perhaps but . . ." Balin started to speak but Dis interrupted him.

"Once they find their One, Balin, that's it for them. There is no other. It's not like Men, who can find love again and again, if they are so inclined." Dis marched closer to Balin, matching him stare for stare. "She's got a chance to find that again, if she crosses the Sea, and I'm not about to convince her not to try. So, mind your words and make yourself useful instead of a nuisance or I'll send you packing."

"But how? What?" Balin took a cautious step back but couldn't keep his questions from spilling out.

"She's going to take the runestone to Mahal. There's unfinished business between them and the only place she is going to find answers is over there. Now stop gaping like a fish and tell Tauriel the best way to get to the Havens from here." Dis glared at him, then sighed again, her face softening a bit. "I'll pack her some food while you give her directions, Balin. You can hear the rest of the story from me after she's on the road." She narrowed her eyes. "If you don't cross me again," she warned.

Balin walked Tauriel out to Beorn's horse as instructed, his eyes wide and a stunned expression on his face. "Are you sure of this, lass?" he asked, voice very low and his concern evident, as he darted a glance towards the house, making sure Dis was not following them.

"I am, Balin," Tauriel said, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I will seek out the Havens and see when the next ship sails. My path lies across the sea, as Dis says. There is nothing here for me. If I can find the answers I need there then it will be worth the effort."

"And if you do not?" Balin asked quietly.

"Then I will at least be in Elvenhome and they say there is healing for all hurts there. It will be enough," Tauriel assured him. She bent down and gave him a tender kiss on the forehead. "Thank you for all you have done for me. I am grateful for your kindness at the Mountain."

"You showed you kindness first, my dear. I won't soon forget your care of us when we were in the dungeons of Mirkwood," Balin answered. He reached for her hand. "I hope you find your answers and your peace, lass. I wish things could have ended better for you both."

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

Dis appeared at her side, a small leather satchel in her hands. She passed it to Tauriel, who slung it across her shoulders.

She turned to Dis and dropped down to one knee, at eye-level with the Dwarven woman. "Thank you, Dis," she said. "You have given me hope."

She was surprised when the woman embraced her. "You find him," Dis whispered in her ear. "You find him. You make them give you what is due. You both have a promise to keep." She squeezed Tauriel's shoulders and continued to speak, even more softly, her voice breaking as she did. "You give them my love, girl."

Tauriel nodded, her own eyes stinging now. "I will."

She straightened and then stood up, mounting the steed swiftly before her vision blurred further with tears. She raised her hand in farewell to them both as she followed the road that led to the Havens.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry to have taken so long to update!! Real life has been so busy recently that my writing time has become almost nonexistent! I have not forgotten this story though and I plan to continue. Thank you all for staying with me.

 

 

By Balin’s reckoning she should reach Mithlond before nightfall. Tauriel followed the Ered Luin south, then turned east towards the river Lhun. He had said

the river narrowed there and the crossing would be easier.

 

The sun was bright, only a very few clouds dotting the sky, with the towering Ered Luin to her right, the riverlands to her left.

 

She encountered no other travelers as the day wore on. It seemed few ventured towards the Havens these days. It was just past midday when she reached the river. As Balin had warned it was too wide to cross at this point so she followed it north until it narrowed enough for her to safely ford it with the horse. Mithlond was situated on the south side of the river, where the waterway widened into the Gulf of Lune.

 

She veered west, following the river, once she had made the crossing. By afternoon she could see the settlement from afar, graceful towers and delicate spires reflecting the sunlight in the distance. She followed the road now, headed west.

 

As the river widened she could see the city walls rising up before her. So different from the other Elven settlements of Middle Earth, she thought.  The Greenwood had its caves and fortification delved into the depths of the Forest. Rivendell had only its natural protection—the mountains around it and the secrecy of the paths that led to the settlement but no true battlements like the ones ahead of her. Tauriel knew little of the Golden Wood, other than the stories Galion would tell of his travels there in years past, but she had heard enough about it to know it boasted no walls or ramparts, just the trees that encircled the realm.

 

Mithlond was different. It was not nestled in a valley, with mountains to protect it, nor was it surrounded by a dense, ancient forests, as Lothlorien and the Greenwood were.

 

Mithlond was in the open, able to be seen from a distance, no hidden realm here. Its defenses were far greater. Stone walls rose to great heights, towers at intervals along the ramparts. Battlements topped the walls and she could see figures walking along them. This was fortress, a relic of the earliest days of the Second Age. The weight of centuries of history came over here as she approached the gate.

 

This had been Gil-Galad’s realm, High King of the Noldor. This was the domain of Cirdan and had been for centuries—Cirdan who had awakened with the first Elves at Cuivienen, it was said.

 

A cold shiver of doubt went through her. Who was she, a simple Silvan Elf of the Greenwood, to seek audience with Cirdan himself? The Silvan Elves did not sail. They were unfamiliar with the realm of the Valar, never having made the journey to leave Middle Earth—more tied to this land than the scant Noldor left in these realms or the somewhat more numerous Sindar.

 

She slowed her horse down as she approached the gates, her apprehension rising. Almost unconsciously her hand moved to her pocket, to grasp the runestone that lay there. She clutched it in her fist, feeling it take on the warmth of her skin, remembering the touch of Kili’s fingers as he pressed it into her hand. Her resolve returned to her. She may be Silvan but her destiny was not here; it lay across the sea. She looked at the high walls ahead of her, then squeezed the stone once before returning it to its safe resting place.

 

She sat up straighter and spurred her mount forward towards the gate.

 

The two guards on either side of the large gate nodded her through and she passed under the stone edifice into the city of Mithlond. She could feel a breeze on her face and a scent, unfamiliar but enticing—a hint of salt on her lips as she breathed it in.

 

“May I direct you?”a voice said. She glanced down into the face of a dark-haired Elf. She took in his blue tunic and kind grey eyes. “You come from the Woodland Realm—I recognize the colors of Eryn Galen. Do you carry messages for Cirdan?” he asked.

 

That would make it easier, wouldn’t it, Tauriel thought. But no, honesty was her only option. “I am Tauriel. I hail from Eryn Galen but I bring no message from the King.” She slid off the horse to face the stranger. “I seek counsel from Lord Cirdan.”

 

His eyes widened briefly but he nodded. “Follow me then. I am headed to his halls myself.” He inclined his head slightly. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Hithaeron. I am an assistant to Duinenor—he is the seneschal here—I will bring you to him. He should be able to find you lodging and arrange for you to meet with Cirdan.”

 

No honorific. This Elf must be close to Cirdan to forego using the “Lord” designation. Or the Elves here were much like those of Imladris, easily forsaking the honorifics bestowed on them in earlier times and adopting a less formal form of address among themselves.

 

Tauriel followed him through the cobbled streets, leading her mount. There were not too many inhabitants to be found in the streets. She caught sight of an open-air market in a square to her left—vendors and customers mingling but even that space was not crowded.

 

Hithaeron caught her eye. “There are not as many of us as there once were; certainly not as many as in your homeland,” he said. “Many have sailed in these past years. But enough of us remain, lingering, although the city is not as populous as it once was.” He pointed to a building on his right. “Many of these homes are uninhabited now, their owners across the sea.” He gave her a smile. “But we make do as we can. The ships are still built, the lands are still tilled, the city still functions as it always has.”

 

He came to a halt in front of an imposing structure—delicate archways and tall columns. “Your horse will be safe here. Duinenor will be inside.”

 

Tauriel tied the horse to a post, retrieved her satchel from the saddlebags and followed him into the warm interior. He led her down a corridor and tapped on a large, intricately carved door.

 

“Come in!” a voice called. She followed Hithaeron into the large room.

 

“Greetings, Duinenor. I bring a traveler seeking lodging and counsel.” Hithaeron addressed his statement to a similarly dark-haired Elf seated behind a massive desk covered with papers.

 

Duinenor looked up, his gaze sharp as he took in her travel-stained tunic and dusty boots. “A visitor from Eryn Galen,” he said. “It has been many a year since we have hosted anyone other than Thranduil’s usual envoy.” He smiled up at her. “How may I be of service?” Duinenor stood as he spoke.

 

“ _Mae Govannen_ ,” Tauriel said, reverting to formality. “I do not come as a messenger from the King but simply as a solitary traveler. I seek temporary lodging and the chance to seek the counsel of your Lord.”

 

Duinenor gaze sharpened and then he nodded. “Both are easily done. As you may have noted on your brief journey from the gate much of the city is now uninhabited. The shipwrights remain, the guards and those merchants who still find buyers for their wares but Mithlond is but a small settlement now, nothing like your mighty Greenwood.”

 

“Duinenor, Tauriel—I will take my leave now that you have become acquainted.” HIthaeron inclined his head to her. “I expect I shall see you again, while you abide in our fair city. I am at your service should you require any assistance.” He nodded at the seneschal and took his leave.

 

“Hithaeron is one of my assistants,” Duinenor explained as the door closed behind the other Elf. “There are only so many of us left here to make sure things run as smoothly as they always have.” He turned to Tauriel, gesturing for her to sit in the comfortable chair in front of his desk as he took his seat again. “So, what brings you to Mithlond, if it is not messages from Thranduil?”

 

Tauriel hesitated. She had no desire to reveal her story to this unknown Elf. “I may not be a messenger from the King but I do bring tidings of interest for your Lord.” She gave Duinenor a polite smile. “It is best if I share my news with him directly.” Surely the defeat of Smaug and the reclamation of Erebor counted as news? Not to mention the Orc hordes that had issued from Gundabad—that would certainly be of interest to Cirdan.

 

“As you wish. I can provide lodgings here if you are so inclined. There are a few inns in the city still but you are most welcome here.”

 

“I would be grateful for the hospitality,” Tauriel replied.

 

 

The sun had set in dazzling fashion, sinking over the horizon as the water shimmered golden in the light. Tauriel had lived near the Lake her entire life but the Gulf was a gloriously unexpected sight when she opened the curtains to the rooms Duinenor had assigned her.

 

She had bathed, changed out of her dusty clothes and then settled in the window seat to watch the sunset. As the golden light faded to the purple and indigo of the coming night a knock sounded on her door.

 

A smiling Elf greeted her. “I hope you have found all to your satisfaction?” she asked Tauriel. “I am Celegil. I have come to escort you down for the evening meal, if you are ready?”

 

“I am,” Tauriel replied. “Thank you.”

 

Celegil peeked into the room. “May I take your clothes to be washed while you eat?”  
  
“I would be most grateful,” Tauriel said. “I have been on the road for quite some time.”

 

Celegil’s smile grew. “It would be my pleasure. I’ll come back to get your things while you are at table. Come now, follow me.”

 

Tauriel arrived in the dining hall. Duinenor and a female Elf were already seated, with Hithaeron across from them. A few other unfamiliar Elves were seated near them. At the head of the table sat an Elf who could only be Cirdan—silver haired and bearded, unlike any of her kind that she had met before.

 

He stood at her arrival and stepped towards her to clasp her hands in greeting. “You are welcome to Mithlond, Tauriel,” he said, his voice deep and resonant, but her breath caught as she met his eyes. She had heard it said that Cirdan’s gaze was ‘keen as the stars’ but now that she saw him with her own eyes she realized the phrase did not do him justice. She felt as though she were falling into a well when she gazed into that deep blue—ageless yet ancient.

 

CIrdan’s hands were warm and grasped hers gently as she searched for words. “I am most grateful for the hospitality, my Lord,” she finally said. He inclined his head and led her to the seat next to him at the table.

 

She said little at the meal. Tauriel had sat at Thranduil’s table countless times, at casual occasions as well as far more formal ones than tonight’s meal but she still felt overawed by the presence of Cirdan at her side. Her travels had brought her in contact with such noble company—Gandalf, Elrond, Glorfindel, and now Cirdan himself. The tales of her youth coming to life before her eyes was daunting; the years of comfortable familiarity with the grace and quiet dignity of Thranduil had not prepared her for this.

 

It would only get worse once she crossed the sea, she realized. Not only more of the First-born, like Cirdan, but also Elves whose names had passed into legend. Gil-Galad, Celebrimbor, the majestic heroes of the First Age, Finarfin the High King. Apprehension washed over her as her exchange with Dis returned to her—had she truly considered approaching one of the Valar? When she could hardly make conversation with a First-born? She clenched her hands tightly in her lap.

 

“Is the food not to your liking?” Cirdan asked quietly, leaning his head towards her.

 

She looked down at her plate, food almost untouched and quickly glanced around to see the others were finished with their meals. Gently curious gazes met her eyes. She had missed most of the conversation at table and most of the meal itself it seemed.

 

“No, it is wonderful. I am perhaps not as hungry as I supposed,” Tauriel said.

 

“It can be difficult to return to the bounty of a well laid table after many days of travel,” Cirdan said kindly. He stood and addressed the other Elves at the table. “My thanks for your company as always,” he inclined his head as he spoke to them then offered Tauriel his arm. “I believe Duinenor said you wished to speak with me?


	35. Chapter 35

CIrdan led Tauriel out of the room and down a long hallway, stopping only when he reached a large, intricately carved door. “My study,” he explained as he gestured for her to follow him into the room.

 

She was vividly reminded of Thranduil’s chambers, not his official ones where he received his guests and councilors, but the smaller, more secluded one that was subtly hidden with an intricate panel much like Cirdan’s door.

 

The one Thranduil would retreat to when he wanted to be alone, the room where Legolas always knew to find him on the difficult days, where he would meet privately with those who were in his deepest confidence, where Galion would bring him his meals when he was too busy to remember to eat, and where he would always keep a supply of sweets for the rambunctious child she had been and the Captain with the sweet tooth that she had become.

 

It took her breath away—the massive solid desk, the comfortable chairs set in front of it, the crackling fire on the far side of the room, the inviting sofa and armchairs set in front of the hearth. Wood paneling and intricate tapestries covered one wall while the rest were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. It hit her with a pang that she would never see that room again, so very similar to this one; likely never see Legolas or Thranduil again, if she followed through with her plan.

 

It had been a vague realization during her travels and more vivid when she had said her goodbye to Legolas in Imladris, but for some reason this unexpected memory of home brought the finality of her decision crashing down on her. She took a deep breath, her hand pressed to her abdomen, her eyes wide.

 

Cirdan looked at her inquiringly. “Are you alright, Tauriel?” he asked, gently putting a hand to her elbow.

 

She nodded, clearing her throat to assure him she was well. “It just took me by surprise,” she said. “It is so like Thranduil’s,” she added softly.

 

Her words made Cirdan smile. “That is high praise indeed, for I am well aware that Thranduil spares himself no comfort.” He squeezed her elbow and studied her face thoughtfully. “Is this your first time away from Eryn Galen?” he asked kindly.

 

“It is,” Tauriel admitted.

 

“Well, then I hope we have made you feel welcome here.” Cirdan guided her towards the fire, motioning for her to sit.

 

“Most welcome.” She sat in the deep armchair near the fire.

 

“Will you have a glass of wine?” Cirdan asked.

 

She politely nodded her assent, then accepted the deep, rich, red wine he handed her. The scent was achingly familiar and the taste confirmed her familiarity with the appellation.

 

“I share Thranduil’s appreciation for many things, including the wines of Dorwinion,” Cirdan confided, seating himself on the sofa to her right. He raised his glass to her and then sipped his wine.

 

Tauriel savored the familiar vintage, another vestige of home she had not expected to find here in Mithlond. She was at a loss as to how to begin her conversation with Cirdan, waiting instead for the ancient Elf to speak first.

 

His eyes sparkled as a smile came over his face again. He took another drink of his wine and then set his glass down, regarding her directly. “Tauriel, I believe you wanted to speak to me?” he reminded her gently.

 

She felt her face heat up. Of course. She had requested this private audience. She had told Duinien she sought Cirdan’s counsel and now she sat here tongue tied, like an awe-struck child.

 

But honestly, that was exactly how she felt. It was daunting to meet one who was older than the very Sun and Moon themselves.

 

Her fingers sought the cool smoothness of the runestone in her pocket and she willed herself to focus. She had news to share and advice to seek. It wasn’t that difficult a task.

 

“I did seek you out, my Lord,” Tauriel said. “Although I was not sent by King Thranduil, I do bring tidings from the East and request your wisdom on a matter of personal interest.”

 

Cirdan nodded, his deep gaze attentive. “I look forward to hearing your news and assisting you in any way I may.” His look turned serious as he added “But please do not call me Lord. I have long since disposed of titles. My name is more than enough.” He gave a quiet sigh. “It grows tiresome after all these ages I have lived to be burdened with a meaningless title. I am no Lord—I am simply a craftsman who keeps this port city somewhat organized, no more than that.”  
  
Tauriel blinked at him and nodded. So now, how to proceed? News first, she decided. He may have received a raven from Imladris but it was better to assume he had not.

 

She plunged into the story—detailing the arrival of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield to Eryn Galen and the events that transpired since she had recklessly chased after them on their escape. Cirdan followed along with her tale, nodding and making appropriate, encouraging comments. She paused her commentary to answer his questions at times.

 

Most of his questions seemed to focus on the wizard and the dragon, although the mention of the Hobbit seemed to intrigue him. “He gave Thranduil the Arkenstone to broker the peace?” Cirdan asked her again.

 

She nodded. “He did, although it did not seem his plan would succeed. The Orc attack is what brought the armies to a united front. I do not believe the dwarves took kindly to his plan.”

 

Cirdan grimaced. “Too many times the hordes of Gundabad have tried to overcome us.” He turned and contemplated the fire, turning his wine glass in his hands. “It has been long years since Gundabad has launched such an assault. I had not thought they had regained such strength in numbers.”

 

His face took on a distant look, as if it were not just the fire before him that he was seeing. “It has been many years since the Goblins of the Hithaeglir dared to leave their shadowy caves. The Sons of Elrond had put great fear in them and I had thought that threat still held them.” Cirdan drummed his fingers on the arm of the sofa, his gaze unfocused and his words so low that Tauriel could barely catch them. “Unless something else stirs to make them so bold. Mithrandir suspicions of the Necromancer’s true form may have been more accurate than we believed.”

 

He shook his head and turned back to Tauriel. “But the jewel rests with Thorin now, you say—it is a grim fate for the House of Durin but it relieves me to know the stone passed through so many hands and left no taint.” His eyes darkened. “Not all treasures have so restful a fate.”

 

Of course, Tauriel thought. He had seen wars fought over jewels—jewels that did not ever make their way back to their rightful owner, wreaking havoc on all who dared lay a claim on them, whether they were entitled or not.

 

“So, Erebor has a King again,” Cirdan continued. “Which means many Dwarves from the colonies in the Ered Luin will soon be returning to their homeland.” Cirdan gave Tauriel a downcast look. “They will come to know the sight of empty houses and silent courtyards as we do here.” His eyebrows lowered. “It will not do for all the strongholds to migrate to Erebor. The Dwarves of the Iron Hills and those of the Ered Luin provide more than just their skills as smiths and craftsmen. They are doughty warriors. It will not be wise to leave the Iron Hills defenseless.” He gave Tauriel a sharp look. “Or we could find ourselves lacking in fine Dorwinion wines.” He tilted his head and spoke again. “Did Dain speak about the Iron Hills?”

 

“Not to me,” she replied. “I know only that his army came and that he was the heir after Thorin’s line. Perhaps he said more to Mithrandir.”

 

“Gundabad from the North and Mordor to the South. He could hem us between like a nut in a very cruel nutcracker,” Cirdan muttered. Add the threat of Dol Guldur and the situation worsens immeasurably, he thought to himself. He had agreed with Mithrandir and supported the White Council’s driving off of the Necromancer but he was not as convinced as Saruman was that this was a simple sorcerer. There was more afoot than a conjuror of dark magic. It made him uneasy and Cirdan had learned long ago to trust his instincts—it was why he was still alive. He needed to confer with Elrond and Mithrandir about these developments, and soon.

 

He turned his attention back to the Elf beside him. “So, you have shared news of Erebor and the destruction of the last of the great firedrakes of the North. I, for one, shall not mourn the passing of the last of those dragons of Morgoth’s. Smaug was far lazier and less cunning than his predecessors but any dragon is a formidable foe—one that even the greatest warriors of the First Age were hard pressed to battle. We are well rid of him.”

 

CIrdan stood to pour himself more wine, Tauriel declining to refill her glass. There was more she needed to speak to Cirdan about tonight.

 

“Now that you have shared your news, Tauriel, tell me now how you come to be here. Not as a messenger, you say, but as a seeker of counsel. How may I assist you?” He turned to look at her, the firelight catching his eyes and turning his silver hair and beard a deeper golden color.

 

There was a softness to his gaze but a hint of sadness too. Those were eyes that had seen much sorrow in this world and it showed.

 

Tauriel laced her fingers tightly together in her lap. Haltingly she filled in the gaps of her previous narrative—her personal connection with the dwarves, her reasons for following them. She was frank with Cirdan, as she had been with Dis, boldly stating her love of Kili and the emotions that spurred her on.

 

“Do you have this stone with you here, Tauriel?” Cirdan asked, after the long silence that had followed her revelations.

 

“I carry it with me always,” she replied, reaching into her pocket to withdraw it. She regarded it, in her palm, so very reminiscent of the moment Kili had first placed it there and she curled her fingers around it protectively.

 

“May I see it?” Cirdan asked, leaning forward.

 

Tauriel shifted in her chair and stretched her open hand out to him. He studied it, making no attempt to reach for it. “’Return to me’,” he said quietly, his eyes flicking up to hers questioningly.

 

“I thought to sail,” she said, her voice sounding far hoarser than she expected. “Elrond and Dis both seemed to think there was still power in the runes, the oath unfulfilled.”

 

Cirdan’s eyes widened and she saw him take a deep breath as the word “oath” left her lips. He sighed and shook his head. “Oaths are strange things and not always under the control of the oath maker.” He considered the stone in her hand. “May I?” he questioned, holding his hand out for it.

 

Tauriel placed it in his hand, scrutinizing his face as the stone touched his palm; he gently probed it with the fingertip of his other hand. He drew back abruptly, eyebrows going up then ran his finger over it again, eyes closing as he made contact.

 

It was only a moment but time seemed to slow for Tauriel as she watched Cirdan hold her runestone. Kili’s runestone, she corrected herself.

 

Then Cirdan’s ageless eyes were on her again as he handed it back.

 

“So?” Tauriel whispered.

 

“I believe Elrond and Dis are correct in their assessment. There is a residual energy in that stone.”

 

“Residual energy,” she repeated. “But what does that mean?”

 

“I am not certain. It may be the power of an oath unfulfilled or simply that the rune magic cannot dissipate because its purpose has not been completed,” Cirdan said.

 

“I thought to sail West,” Tauriel repeated. “Seek counsel from the Valar.” She slipped the stone back into her pocket, stroking its surface as she did. “If Kili is in Mahal’s Halls, as he thought he would be, perhaps there is some way to complete the promise by finding him there and bringing it to him?” Tauriel ventured.

 

“It is no small thing to approach the Valar,” Cirdan warned.

 

Tauriel forehead creased. “I know. I have thought long on it. Dis suggested I approach Yavanna, rather than Mahal directly.”

 

Cirdan nodded at her words. “Dis’ suggestion is good. The First Born are well loved by Yavanna. It is solid advice.”

 

“I am but a Silvan Elf—I do not know how to even . . .” Tauriel started.

 

Cirdan cut her off with a raised hand and a stern look. “None of that. You are First Born and beloved of the Valar. The Silvan Elves revere Yavanna’s creations above all else—you are dear to her and slighting that will not help your cause.” He leaned forward. “I do not know what happens in Mahal’s Halls. That is hidden from us and known only to the Dwarves themselves.” He sighed and looked at the fire thoughtfully. “I do not know if the Dwarves have fëa, as we do. If their houseless spirits rest there or if they are suspended in time—a dreamless sleep as they wait for the breaking of the world and their chance to build Arda reborn.” He paused and touched her lightly on the shoulder. “All you can do is ask. Ask to see Yavanna. Request an audience with Mahal. Seek to fulfill the promise held in that stone.”

 

“And if the answer if no?” Tauriel asked, her eyes down.

 

“Then you are no worse off than you are now and you are in the place that will give you the best chance to heal,” Cirdan answered, squeezing her shoulder.

 

Her eyes flicked up to meet his and she saw his gentle smile, was drawn in by the depth of empathy in his eyes. “But I would not be so sure they will say no,” he continued. He released her shoulder and leaned back, his hands loosely laced together and a gratified look on his face.

“You know your history. Luthien came to Namo and Beren was returned to her. She chose a mortal life, to join him after death.”

 

“I have no song of power, to make a Vala weep in sympathy,” Tauriel stated.

 

“No, you don’t,” Cirdan answered, matter-of-factly and Tauriel’s chest tightened painfully at his words before he continued. “You have more than that. You hold the physical manifestation of an unfulfilled promise in your hands. A promise likely made in Mahal’s name. You have come to fulfil it. I think they will be hard pressed not to give you the same answer Namo gave Luthien.”

 

She could feel the tears running down her cheeks, blurring the vision of his face before her.

“You truly think there is a chance?” she asked.

 

“You have come all this way to find out, haven’t you?” He asked her in return. “I think it is worth a try.”

 

“What do I do now?”

 

His smile loosened the tightness in her chest and his words slowed her tears. “Take passage on the next ship West.” His eyes sparkled at her as his smile grew wider. “Should be ready to sail in just a few days. That should give us just enough time to scour the library here for anything that might help.” He leaned forward and patted her clenched hand. “It’s been awhile since I’ve needed to delve into the ancient texts. At least I’ll have company this time.”

 

 


End file.
